Prince William and Kate Middleton ‘inadvertently’ flout rule of six at Norfolk Christmas event

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge accused of breaking 'rule of six' after meeting Prince Edward and his family at Sandringham

(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been accused of flouting the “rule of six” after touring a public attraction at Sandringham with their children at the same time as Prince Edward and his family.

On Sunday, Prince William and Kate Middleton toured Luminate, a Christmas-themed woodland walk at the Queen's Norfolk residence, along with their three children: Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two.

However, Prince Edward was also photographed at the event with his wife, Sophie, and their two children: Lady Louise Windsor, 17, and James Viscount Severn, 13.

Photographs obtained by The Daily Mail show the two groups walking around the public attraction together.

Norfolk is currently under tier 2 rules, which means that a maximum of six people can socialise together outdoors.

The government guidelines state: “You can see friends and family you do not live with (or do not have a support bubble with) outdoors, in a group of no more than six. This limit of six includes children of any age.”

Breaking the rules can incur a £200 fine for the first offence.

However, royal sources have said that both parties arrived separately and had no intention of touring the event as one large group.

They said: "The two families were given separate consecutive slots to visit the trail just before it opened to the general public. 

“They arrived and departed in their own family groups. As anyone with young children will know, there were moments on the 90-minute walk where it was difficult to keep the two family groups apart, particularly at bottlenecks on the trail.”

It comes after Prince William and Kate Middleton released their official Christmas card, four days after the photograph was leaked by a fan account on Instagram.

The photo, which was taken in the autumn by Matt Porteous, shows Prince William and Kate Middleton with their three children at their home in Norfolk: Anmer Hall.

The family are pictured looking relaxed outdoors and are sitting on hay bales with a pile of wood behind them.