Kate Middleton spotted breaking Wimbledon 'rule' despite clear instructions from officials

Both the Princess of Wales and Wimbledon organisers have found themselves in hot water this week, after attendees spotting her breaking a pretty important rule.

Kate Middleton made appearances at both the Ladies' and Men's Singles Final over the weekend - the latter on Sunday (13 Jul) with her husband Prince William and their two eldest children, Prince George, 11, and Princess Charlotte, ten.

Donning a royal blue dress, Kate led her family to their seats, where they watched Italy's Jannik Sinner steal victory from reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in a nail-biting showdown.

As UK residents are well aware, however, the weekend marked one of the hottest this year, with temperatures in London reaching a staggering 32 degrees.

Given the strength of the sun, the mother-of-three could be seen placing a chic wicker hat on her head during the match, in a bid to protect her neck and shoulders from the heat.

Kate brought a hat to the sport tournament (Andrew Matthews - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

As many spectators watching from home clocked, however, doing so saw Kate break a major Wimbledon rule, in that hats are reportedly forbidden in the stands.

The dress code for the annual sporting tournament is stated clearly on its official website.

"Protocol - dress is smart, suits/jacket and tie, etc," the guide explains. "Ladies are asked not to wear hats, as they tend to obscure the vision of those seated behind them."

Criticising Kate for flaunting the rules and regulations, a number of Reddit users took aim at the Princess.

"Hats aren’t allowed especially in the royal box so the people behind you can see," one issued a reminder.

"It's OK when it's Kate who's being rude by obstructing other people's view," another hit out.

Others pointed out that the same exception was not made for the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, when she attended the competition in 2018.

Meghan was seen holding her hat in her hands (Karwai Tang/WireImage)

That year, the former Suits actress attended the Ladies' Single Final alongside Kate, on what would be their first-ever official outing without their husbands, Princes William and Harry.

Despite Meghan having brought a white straw hat with a black band with her, the 43-year-old could be seen holding it in her hands the entire time that Angelique Kerber played Serena Williams.

Pointing out the supposed double-standards, one social media user hit out: "What was the reason they didn't allow Meghan to wear a hat? She was so oppressed in that weird as hell family."

Another shared a photo of Kate with the caption: "Do you remember when they didn't allow Meghan to hear a hat at Wimbledon?

"Guess who did wear a hat yesterday!"

A third penned: "Yup, you know that if Kate were the one in the hat then, she’d have been praised for protecting her skin and Meghan would have been criticized for setting a bad example for sun safety.

Kate wore a hat over the weekend (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

"The goal posts would always change to harm Meghan."

"At this point I feel like this is Kate openly mocking Megan," a fourth wrote. "I know, we dont pit women against each other. & I agree, but there's a line, & I feel like Kate has long jumped over it many times over."