A rare breach of royal protocol by Kate Middleton.

As you may be aware, going against royal rules is frowned upon by the Queen and with that in mind, it's a very rare occurrence. However, it seems that Queen Elizabeth II decided to let things slide on one occasion and gave Kate Middleton permission to break long-standing protocol. According to reports, the Duchess was previously allowed to take pictures at the Queen's country residence in Balmoral, which isn't the done thing. As fans of the Duchess of Cambridge will know, she loves photography and is responsible for some of the gorgeous snaps of her children featured on the Kensington Palace account. Kate is a patron of the Royal Photographic Society and taking photos has been a hobby of hers for some time which explains why the Queen's decision was viewed as such a big step. Katie Nicholl wrote about this huge moment in the relationship between the pair in her book Kate: The Future Queen.

"Until now the Queen had met Kate only fleetingly at the wedding of Peter and Autumn Phillips, but she went out of her way to make her feel welcome, giving her permission to take pictures at Balmoral".

She went on to explain why it was such a big deal, describing it as a "generous move" on the part of the Queen.

"As a woman who has lived her entire life in the public eye, the Queen rarely lets her guard down, and very few apart from her family and closest friends get to see the real Elizabeth".

Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands is a very special place for the Queen and according to reports, she started her summer holiday a few days ago. Every year, she spends some time in the royal residence and she's not expected back at Buckingham Palace until early October. Several members of the royal family are thought to have received invites to Balmoral this summer including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their baby son Archie. https://twitter.com/byEmilyAndrews/status/1154717197966749696