WALES has become the second country to slam William and Kate’s UK tour – warning it must not be an “excuse” for people to break Covid rules.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge kicked off their 1,250-mile, three-day nationwide tour to spread festive cheer on Sunday.
They have been thanking key workers in their fight against the deadly disease as they make stops in England, Wales and Scotland.
But Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething today took a swipe at the royal couple when asked about the whistle-stop tour.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I’d rather that no-one was having unnecessary visits.”
The minister added: “People have views about the monarchy. But their visit isn’t an excuse for people to say they are confused about what they are being asked to do.”
When pressed on whether Kate and William should be coming to Wales as part of their tour today, he replied: “I’m not particularly that bothered or interested.
“Because I don’t think that is going to be an excuse for people to say, ‘I should go and behave in a different way’.”
But they found themselves embroiled in a row after travelling up to Edinburgh from London last night to meet Scottish paramedics in their first stop of the morale-boosting whirlwind tour.
Travel advice for Wales was updated last week when England’s lockdown lifted.
It is illegal to travel between Wales and tier 3 areas in England, level 3 and 4 areas in Scotland and the whole of Northern Ireland, which is currently in lockdown
And visitors from areas with lower infection rates will still need a “reasonable excuse” to enter Wales.
Mr Gething’s thinly-veiled comments came after Nicola Sturgeon yesterday warned the pair could be breaching Covid restrictions.
The Scottish First Minister said the couple had been warned about travelling across the border between Scotland and England for the whistle-stop tour.
Ms Sturgeon said: “The Scottish Government was advised about the intention to visit, and we made sure that the Royal Household were aware, as you would expect, of the restrictions in place in Scotland so that could inform both the decision and the planning of the visit.”
She added: “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.
“Any more questions on that should be directed to the Royal household.”
Her comments were backed by one of Ms Sturgeon’s top pandemic advisers.
