The Princess of Wales dressed in festive green today as she was saluted by Irish Guards' at the St Patrick's Day parade before si...
The Princess of Wales dressed in festive green today as she was saluted by Irish Guards' at the St Patrick's Day parade before sipping on a pint of Guinness.
Kate, 43, made a triumphant solo return to the celebration, before putting drinks behind the bar for guardsmen and enjoying a toast inside the Wellington Barracks in Westminster.
After arriving at the central London camp, Kate inspected the troops before being presented with traditional sprigs of shamrock by a member of the guards.
In a further sweet moment, Kate knelt down to pet the regimental mascot Turlough Mór, an adorable Irish Wolfhound known as Seamus. She then gifted him a sprig of shamrock.
Later, inside the Junior Ranks dining hall, Kate sipped on a pint of Guinness as a senior guardsman toasted her, but didn't quite manage to 'split the G' instead choosing to savour the drink slowly.
'Three cheers for the colonel in the regiment,' he said before raucous applause.
Kate, who is colonel of the regiment after taking over from her husband, missed the Guards' annual occasion last year as she was undergoing treatment for cancer.
She styled her look with black heeled boots and a percher hat, and added a Shamrock pin, while tucked her hair up into a sleek updo and opting for a light make-up look.
She added Kiki McDonough Green Tourmaline earrings to her look - which she also wore at the St Patrick's Day Parade in 2018 and 2019.
In a very sweet gesture, the future queen also put money behind the bar for guardsmen, saying it's 'the least she could do'.
She later took the official salute from the Irish Guards, raising their Bearskin caps into the air.
Kate started the day by saluting the colonel during a march-past and met Irish Guards veterans as well as junior cadets from Northern Ireland known as Mini Micks.
During a private ceremony, in the junior ranks' dining hall, senior guardsman toasted in her honour.
The Princess drank from a half pint of Guinness as Guardsman Barry Loughlin raised a toast to her as royal colonel in the Dining Room.
'If you have a drink, stand with me now,' he said, 'bit quicker boys,' he joked.
'Three cheers for the Colonel of the regiment,' he said. Kate sipped her drink after the three cheers rang out then headed over to meet Barry's partner Georgia Wills and son Regan, four.
Kate and William reveal chaotic weekends with Princes George and Louis while watching Six Nations
Barry said of the Princess: 'She just wanted to find out how everything's going. She's really nice in that respect, she doesn't just disappear. She's warm and you feel welcomed by her.
'You could tell she had a genuine interest.'
Inside, she told soldiers and their families, including some who had recently returned from Iraq, that she had missed taking part in the ceremony over the past two years.
Kate handed out long service and good conduct medals to Colour Sergeant Healy, Sgt Ben Beavis, Sgt Kristian Pooley and the Operation Shader medal to Sgt Jamie Davies, before heading out onto the Parade Ground.
The princess then joined the regiment for their traditional parade, taking her place on the saluting dais as soldiers from Number 9 Company, Number 12 Company and the Rear Operations Group marched onto the parade square, led by their Irish wolfhound mascot, Turlough Mor.
After taking the salute on the dais, she handed out shamrocks to Guardsmen and officers before finally presenting a sprig to the regimental mascot Turlough Mor, an Irish wolfhound known as Seamus.
She also said she wants to take her children to Australia and New Zealand now they are a bit older.
Kate was chatting to Irish Guardsmen and their families in the Sergeants' Mess at Wellington Barracks after putting money behind the bar for them to celebrate St Patrick's Day.
Chatting about how she and Prince William took their eldest son, Prince George, away with them on his first official tour when he was a baby, she told Corporal Adam Hamilton, an Australian reservist: 'George finds it fascinating that he has been to Australia and New Zealand.
'I would like to go back there with them now. It's finding time to do that. But I love to travel – yes, it's a long flight.
'But I love the Middle East because that's familiar to me from growing up. There are so many opportunities now to travel, I think it's brilliant to experience it.
'We tend to go further afield when it's official visits, it's being able to carve out time to experience these countries in a more private capacity.
'Because otherwise you end up seeing lots of insides of amazing buildings but you don't get to meet that many.. people
'It's making sure that you can combine a bit of work with… the children. I might see you down there!'
The Princess, who wore a bottle green coat and matching hat with a gold shamrock brooch of the Irish Guards, was also asked where she and her family lived.
'We are in Windsor at the moment,' she replied.
'We were in London but moved there for more green space. It's close enough to London, not too far away.'
The Princess also chatted to section commanders in the bar about her husband's beard.
'These trends come and go,' she said. 'I was saying to my husband, I'm not sure how long he's going to keep his for.'
Told that Noah Hogan, seven, whose father John is Company Sergeant Major, was a keen footballer, she replied: 'Our kiddies play football. Do Mummy and Daddy come and watch? Do you like the idea of being in the Army too?'
She also chatted to his brother Lucas, 12.
'You're the same age as George. So you haven't got exams this year?' She asked.
Told he has just joined the Army cadets, she said: 'You get to try so many different things there. Within the military, there are so many career different paths you can take. It's so exciting.
'Actually it's one of the things that I'm very keen to support, that recruitment side.'
Kate was all smiles as she arrived at Wellington Barracks, where crowds of tourists had lined up along the perimeter fence to watch.
She was greeted by Major General Sir Chris Ghika and Lt Col Ben Irwin-Clark and met their wives and other senior officers inside.
Leaning down to shake hands with Rory Irwin-Clark, six, she said: 'You're six? The same age as my Louis.'
'We so often see you at matches because our girls are always playing each other, they are Farleigh and Lambrook, so I think there's stiff competition,' said his mother Carice, who has a daughter in year five.
'I was just saying, they're doing so much, sporting events,' replied Kate.
'Now it's getting a bit warmer, it's a bit nicer for a spectator,' joked Carice.
Kate wished each officer a 'Happy St Patrick's Day' as they stepped forward to receive the shamrock.
Then when Seamus arrived, she spent time patting him and scratching under his chin and behind his ears as his sprig was pinned to his smart red coat.
His handler, Drummer Joseph Aldridge, 27, said of the encounter, 'It was special. She's our colonel and obviously we want her to come to our parade every year but due to some unfortunate circumstances she couldn't [last year]. It's nice to see her come out and get to meet everyone — especially Seamus.
'He's the fan favourite. Not just with the royal family but everyone.'
'We had a lovely chat about animals. She said 'he's being well behaved.' And I said 'He is but he can be unpredictable!' She laughed and said 'horses are the worst.' She loves all animals,' he added.
The Princess returned to the dais for three cheers from those on parade, with soldiers raising their bearskins into the air on each 'hooray'.
After another royal salute and the national anthem, they then marched past, followed by Irish Guards veterans.
Three-year-old Elsie Enright was chosen to present Kate with a bouquet of Spring flowers and the Princess commented on her 'beautiful shoes.'
She was then introduced to a line up of 'mini Micks' – cadets who had travelled from Northern Ireland to attend the Parade – and another group of veterans.
Then it was time to pose for group photographs with the Officers and Guardsmen. Kate giggled as two small boys who had been watching relatives taking part in the parade wandered into one of the shots.
Meanwhile, officers from the regiment deployed in eastern England paused their training of Ukrainian troops to present shamrocks to their recruits as part of Operation Interflex, a UK-led programme providing battlefield skills to Ukrainian soldiers.
The Irish Guards have played a key role in the programme, which has trained more than 45,000 Ukrainian recruits since Russia's full-scale invasion.
During the parade, a tribute was paid to soldiers stationed in eastern England, with Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Ben Irwin-Clark describing St Patrick's Day as 'a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the friendships that are so fundamental to our regimental ethos and identity'.
Last year, the guardsman gave three cheers for their absent colonel while the princess was away from public duties after abdominal surgery.
It comes after the Prince and Princess of Wales cheered on opposing sides at Saturday's Wales v England Six Nations match.
William and Kate took their seats at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff to watch the teams compete in the competition's final round of matches.
The prince is patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) while the princess holds a similar position with the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
The famously competitive couple have previously joked about supporting different teams during the tournament with William supporting Wales and Kate rooting for England.
After the princess departed the ceremony, Kensington Royal posted on X, formerly Twitter: 'Happy St Patrick's Day!
'Great to be back to join the Irish Guards for their annual St Patrick's Day parade here at Wellington Barracks. Proud to be your Colonel, and celebrate 125 years of the regiment with you today.'
In 2023, William remarked it would be a 'tense journey home' with his wife after a Six Nations Wales v England match in Cardiff.
Before the match, the couple met injured players who have been supported by the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust inside the Sir Tasker Watkins Suite – a space dedicated for use by the players and their families ahead of games.
William is patron of the trust, which was set up to help players who have been severely injured while playing rugby in Wales, and their loved ones, inviting them to every Wales home game and hosting an annual family day.
The royal couple spoke of how they watch Princes George and Louis play rugby at weekends in 'freezing' weather.
'At weekends we go from one competition to the next,' William said.
Kate added: 'Louis is six and he's just started touch rugby and George is 11 and he plays a bit more. They do really enjoy it, actually.' She continued: 'They've been exposed to lots of different sports.'
William and Kate chatted with the former players about their rugby careers and how they are continuing to enjoy the game.
On arriving at the stadium, they met the 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh's Goat Major and mascot, Lance Corporal Shenkin.
They were also introduced to Morfudd Meredith, the Lord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan, Terry Cobner, president, Richard Collier-Keywood, chairman, and chief executive Abi Tierney, all of the Welsh Rugby Union, and Rob Udwin, president of the Rugby Football Union.
After the match, won 68-14 by England, both William and Kate visited the Wales and England changing rooms to speak to the players.
They then headed to the pitch to meet Rodrigo Gonzalez, co-founder and co-chief executive of 2022 Earthshot Prize winner Notpla, to mark the rollout of its plastic-free food packaging across Welsh Stadiums.
Speaking in Cardiff yesterday, the Prince and Princess of Wales opened up about how they their weekends with their children.
Before the game, the couple met injured players who have been supported by the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust inside the Sir Tasker Watkins Suite – a space dedicated for use by the players and their families ahead of games.
The royal couple spoke of how they watch Princes George and Louis play rugby at weekends in 'freezing' weather.
'At weekends we go from one competition to the next,' William said. Kate added: 'Louis is six and he's just started touch rugby and George is 11 and he plays a bit more. They do really enjoy it, actually.
The princess, who is patron of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), said: 'They've been exposed to lots of different sports.'
William, who holds a similar position with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), and Kate chatted with the former players about their rugby careers and how they are continuing to enjoy the game.
On arriving at the stadium, they met the 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh's Goat Major and mascot, Lance Corporal Shenkin.
They were also introduced to Morfudd Meredith, the Lord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan, Terry Cobner, president, Richard Collier-Keywood, chairman, and chief executive Abi Tierney, all of the Welsh Rugby Union, and Rob Udwin, president of the Rugby Football Union.
The famously competitive couple have previously joked about supporting different teams during the tournament with William supporting Wales and Kate rooting for England.
After the match, won 68-14 by England, both William and Kate visited the Wales and England changing rooms to speak to the players.
They then headed to the pitch to meet Rodrigo Gonzalez, co-founder and co-chief executive of 2022 Earthshot Prize winner Notpla, to mark the rollout of its plastic-free food packaging across Welsh Stadiums.
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