Royal roll-call: Kate, William, Charles and Queen in rare photo call as Cambridges' train tour ends

Royal family members meet at Windsor Castle for first time in months

Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall pose for a photo at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, Britain December 8, 2020. REUTERSShow less

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were reunited with members of the royal family at Windsor Castle on Tuesday after months apart.

The meeting came at the end of William and Kate's 2,000-kilometre tour of the UK by train to thank key workers for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

At Windsor's quadrangle they were greeted by Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince Edward and Sophie and Princess Anne.

It was the first formal meeting of the monarch's family since the start of the coronavirus crisis this year.

The Cambridges' countrywide trip drew criticism from politicians in Scotland and Wales because of coronavirus travel restrictions.

Before their arrival, Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething told the BBC he would prefer it if "no one was having unnecessary visits".

On Monday, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon appeared to give the couple a cold reception as they stopped off in Edinburgh.

The devolved governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are all responsible for health policy and have introduced different restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19.

That includes curbs on all but essential travel between the four UK countries.

Mr Gething said he was not "particularly bothered or interested" when asked if William and Kate should travel to Wales.

But he said the visit should not be used as an excuse for people to say they were confused by the current guidelines.

Ms Sturgeon said royal officials had been told about restrictions on crossing the border from England.

"We made sure that the royal household were aware, as you would expect, of all of the restrictions in place in Scotland," she said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said the trip was "obviously a matter for the palace".

He said the government had "set out clearly" restrictions to try to stop the spread of the virus and was asking the public to abide by it.