Kensington Palace respond to claims Kate Middleton and Prince William ignored Covid warnings on Royal Train Tour

Palace has defended claims Prince William and Kate Ignored coronavirus warning ahead of their Royal Train Tour.

• Palace officials have spoken out after claims Prince William and Kate ignored coronavirus warnings ahead of going on their Royal Train Tour.
• Emails between Kensington Palace aids and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's principal private secretary suggests the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge may have ignored nationwide travel restrictions.
• This royal news (opens in new tab) comes after the Queen’s ‘grave concerns’ about Kate Middleton emerged as The Duchess prepared to return to work (opens in new tab).

Officials at Kensington Palace have defended claims Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) ignored national guidelines (opens in new tab) about travelling on their Royal Train Tour (opens in new tab) amid the ongoing coronavirus (opens in new tab) pandemic.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took a whistle stop tour of the UK last month to pay tribute to the inspiring work of individuals, organisations, and initiatives across the country that have gone above and beyond to support their local communities during the health crisis.

As part of the three-day tour, the couple travelled 1,250 miles by royal train across the UK, making stops in England, Scotland and Wales but their journeys have come under fire.

It's claimed the royals ignored warnings from the Scottish Government about making the journey but Kensington Palace has ensured the visit was in line with coronavirus guidance at the time.

READ MORE: The big royal travel rule that Prince William and Kate Middleton keep breaking (opens in new tab)
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The trip has most recently come back to light after a Freedom of Information request from The National showed John Somers, principal private secretary to Ms Sturgeon, had emailed the royals about the “major impact” the tour would have.

On November 12, Mr Somers raised concerns about plans for William and Kate to be greeted by a bagpiper at Edinburgh train station, as well as their planned visit to the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).

His email said, 'You’ll know that we are currently asking people living in Scotland to avoid unnecessary travel from local authority to local authority and to keep journeys within the area they live to an absolute minimum.

'From a personal point of view I think the [train tour] is one which would mean a lot to many people living throughout the country. My anxiety though is the practical aspects of it and how presentationally it may be difficult if travel restrictions are in place. I think my view is that at the moment the chances of the tour having to be postponed are potentially quite high.'

But a spokesperson for the Cambridge royals said William and Kate adhered to Scottish Government guidelines for the train tour.

They said in a statement 'the same guidance we gave last month' ahead of the Cambridge tour 'still stands'.

Reiterating their December comments, they said, 'The Duke and Duchess were travelling for work purposes and all rules were fully adhered to.

'The trip was planned in consultation with the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments.'