Prince William and Kate Middleton have been accused of breaking lockdown rules by traveling to Scotland for their royal tour

• The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been accused of breaking the UK's lockdown rules by traveling to Scotland via their private royal train.
• The couple embarked on a tour across the UK to thank healthcare workers this week, and their first stop was Edinburgh, Scotland's capital.
• The city is currently under Tier 3 restrictions, which means travel is prohibited to and from the area, unless for essential reasons.
• A spokesperson for the Scottish Government told Insider that it "was told in advance about the planned visit and were ensured that the royal household were aware of statutory restrictions in place."

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been accused of breaking the UK's lockdown rules by traveling to Scotland for their royal tour.

Prince William and Kate Middleton, who are known as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn in Scotland, traveled from London to Edinburgh via the royal train on Monday morning for a tour across the UK to thank healthcare workers.

The city is currently under Tier 3 restrictions, which means travel to and from the area is banned unless for essential purposes.

"The Duke and Duchess met paramedics and staff of the Scottish Ambulance Service - as representatives of the NHS - to thank them for their incredible efforts throughout the pandemic, and to acknowledge the toll that the pandemic has taken on the physical and mental wellbeing of emergency responders," a spokesperson for the couple wrote on Instagram on Monday.

However, the couple has received criticism from members of the public, who say that they are breaking the government's lockdown rules.

Under current Scottish government regulations, travel between Scotland and England is prohibited. There are a handful of exceptions for essential travel, including: "Travel for work or an activity associated with seeking employment, or to provide voluntary or charitable services, but only where that cannot be done from your home."

"If William and Kate can break lockdown rules and not get fined for it, why should anybody else stick to the rules. #RoyalTrainTour," one person wrote on Twitter.

"Royals if Edinburgh was in lockdown or any other town or city is in lockdown, Kate and William should have respected the rules and stayed away, it's called setting an example," another person wrote.

Some Twitter users have tried reporting the couple to the police by tagging Police Scotland in their tweets about the duke and duchess' visit.

One person wrote: "I absolutely do not understand why the #RoyalTrainTour is being allowed in Edinburgh. Edinburgh is in tier 3. No non essential travel into or out of region. Would @scotgov or @policescotland care to comment?"

Stewart Paterson, political correspondent for the Glasgow Times, compared the couple's visit to Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall's trip to their holiday home in the north of Scotland during the first UK lockdown, where they ultimately had to self-isolate after the prince tested positive for COVID-19.

"Remember at the beginning of the pandemic and lockdown was just announced, Prince Charles made his great escape from London to one of his second homes in Aberdeenshire," Paterson wrote. "Like father like son, it seems."

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government told Insider that it "was told in advance about the planned visit and were ensured that the royal household were aware of statutory restrictions in place in order to inform its decision to proceed."

Speaking about the couple's visit during a press briefing on Monday, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "The Royal visit is a matter for the Royal household and the arrangements around it, and any questions about those arrangements, should be directed to the Royal household," according to Herald Scotland.

The First Minister also confirmed that the couple had been made aware of restrictions in the country before their visit.

The duke and duchess have made visits across England, Scotland, and Wales as part of the tour, with their most recent engagement taking place at Cardiff Castle in Wales on Tuesday morning.

Kensington Palace declined to comment when contacted by Insider.

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