Kate Middleton defended after being accused of ‘horrendous breach of protocol’ during appearance with Prince William

Kate Middleton has been criticised after someone claimed she had breached 'protocol' during a recent event.

Members of the Royal Family gathered on 16 September to attend the funeral of the Duchess of Kent, who died on 4 September.

Prince William and Kate were among the high profile royals including the king who went to the funeral at Westminster Cathedral.

The king's brother Prince Andrew also put in a rare public appearance at the funeral, appearing to exchange some brief words with Charles and William.

But one picture from the funeral had some royal watchers furious at an apparent 'breach' of protocol by Kate during the proceedings.

Will and Kate at Westminster cathedral (Aaron Chown - Pool/Getty Images)

They claimed that Kate had walked in front of William at one point, and as William is first in line to the throne he should always walk ahead with people following behind.

Taking to social media about Kate, one person fumed: "Kate is getting WAY ahead of herself. She’s walking in advance of the future King- where’s Angela Levin & her outrage at this horrendous breach of protocol?!"

But someone else came to Kate's defence, saying: "Their [sic] at a a funeral not a formal event FGS."

The funeral of the Duchess of Kent was the first time that senior members of the royal family have attended a catholic funeral in modern times.

Some remarked that there appeared to be tension between William and the King, and Kate also seemed ill at ease at the event.

Kate is far from the only person to have been accused of breaching royal protocol in this way.

People defended Kate after she was accused of the misstep (Samir Hussein/WireImage)

US President Donald Trump has was heavily criticised for something similar when he walked in front of the late Queen Elizabeth II during his first state visit.

Many people were appalled by the US president's behaviour, which was a flagrant breach of royal protocol.

Trump's actions caused outrage and consternation at the time, and now many believe he made the same mistake again during his current official visit.

The president touched down at Stansted Airport at around 9pm on 16 September for a second state visit.

It is highly unusual for a US president to have two state visits to the UK.

Trump's arrival has been met with protest and controversy, and much of the visit will happen behind closed doors to avoid exposing the president to protestors.

Police have already arrested four people after an image of Trump with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was projected onto Windsor Castle.