The Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, attended the 2023 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Aldershot. This marks The Princess of Wales’s first St. Patrick’s day as the new Colonel of the Irish Guards.
The Princess of Wales took over the role of Colonel of Irish Guards from her husband Prince William in December 2022. William became the Colonel in 2010. The position is an Honorary role.
Earlier this month, The Princess of Wales visited Salisbury to undertake her first engagement with the Irish Guards.
Walking to get your shamrock on St Patrick’s Day like 🫡 pic.twitter.com/7r0go5mxyS
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 17, 2023
At Aldershot, The Princess of Wales presented the traditional sprigs of shamrock to the officers and guardsmen who will pass them in the ranks. Shamrock presentation parades trace their origins to the turn of the 20th century, on 28th February 1900 Queen Victoria instructed all ranks of her Irish regiments to wear a sprig of shamrock in their headdress to “commemorate the gallantry” of her Irish soldiers. Formed in April 1900 by the order of Queen Victoria, the Irish Guards played a major part in both World Wars, winning a total of six Victoria Crosses.
From the Daily Mail,
While the shamrock sprigs were given out, the Prince and Princess of Wales fell apart laughing as Prince William’s shamrocks were placed on his hat. Dressed in a military uniform, William was pictured in hysterics as the bright green foliage was placed on his hat, leaving his wife in fits of laughter as well. However, the placement of the sprigs appeared to be traditional as other officers and guards also displayed the sprigs on their hats.
Catherine also met with the Irish Guards’ mascot Wolf Hound, Seamus. Lieutenant Colonel James Aldridge MBE, Commanding Officer, 1st Bn Irish Guards said, “We are enormously grateful to HRH The Prince of Wales for his support for over eleven years, including through operational tours to Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, and Cyprus, three Queen’s Birthday Parades, and our Presentation of New Colours last year. “We offer a very warm welcome to HRH The Princess of Wales, who is of course no stranger having handed out Shamrock on St Patrick’s Day Parades throughout her husband’s Colonelcy, and who has already shown her commitment to visiting Irish Guards training teams on Salisbury Plain in the snow last week.”
The Parade concluded with a march past during which the new Colonel of the guards took the Royal Salute.
The Princess of Wales inspected the troops of the front rank and the Prince of Wales inspected the troops of the second rank. Both the Prince of Wales and Princess of Wales gave a speech at the Parade.
Addressing the ranks, Prince William said, “ While I am extremely happy to be here celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with you once again I’m incredibly sad to be giving this speech, as it really does mean my time as your Colonel has come to an end. It’s been one of the great honours of my life to hold that title… I may be stepping aside, but in Colonel Catherine, you have a committed focused and already incredibly loyal 11th Colonel.”
In her very first speech to the guards, The new Colonel, Princess of Wales said,
“I really couldn’t be prouder to stand in front of you here today. It really is a true honour to be your Colonel. I am here to listen to you, to support you, and to champion you in all you do – this is a responsibility I do not take lightly.
Last week, I took the opportunity to visit some of you on Salisbury Plain, to see your inspiring work for myself. The day was bitterly cold, and while displaying your skills to yet another visitor was probably the last thing any of you wanted to do, all I saw was enthusiasm, pride and incredible dedication. I was hugely impressed with your insistence that nothing is as bad as it seems, and – most of all – your boundless, irreverent, glorious sense of humour. That’s what makes you who you are and what makes the Irish Guards unique.
I look forward to spending more time with you and your families, seeing your commitment to duty and service in all you do. Before I close, however, I want to thank Colonel William. He has always talked about his fierce pride for this regiment. I know he will continue to support us all in the work we do.”
The couple sat down for the group photograph with the guards to mark the day.
The day ended with the Royal couple meeting the junior ranks at the mess where a toast was proposed for the outgoing Colonel and the new Colonel.
During the meeting, The Royal couple was shown a new regimental painting of the Irish Guards by artist Louise Pragnell, which was painted this year in the state rooms of the Royal Hospital Chelsea and includes the Regimental Mascot, Turlough Mor (Seamus) among other artwork.
A floral presentation for the new Colonel of the Irish Guards.
The Princess of Wales and The Colonel of the Irish Guards 👑☘️ pic.twitter.com/M6QdLg4G2s
— Women of Windsor (@WomenofWindsor) March 17, 2023
The Princess of Wales is not new to the event, She has been attending the Parade with Prince William since 2012. The only year she missed was 2016 when she was in Norfolk with her children. A look at her previous outfit that she has worn at the event.
Now heading towards what The Princess of Wales wore at the 2023 St, Patrick’s day Parade as the new Colonel of the Irish Guards – A stunning new teal Coat with a matching dress and a matching hat.
The teal colour matches the blue plume used to decorate the Irish Guards’ hats. It was a clever choice of colour – a different than traditional Irish green but still a sartorial tribute to the guards. The colour of the outfit definitely made the Princess stand out against the rainy weather backdrop.
The design is reported to be a custom-made Catherine Walker piece. The calf-length coat features structured shoulders, military-style collars, pleats on the shoulders, a buttoned-down middle and was belted at the waist with a hidden closure on the left side.
The buttons are also custom-made pieces reflecting the style of the buttons on the Irish Guards uniform – 4 buttons than a gap then another set of 4 buttons. The Princess, her stylist and the designer have definitely put a lot of thought into the outfit design.
The coat came with a matching dress.
The Princess of Wales topped the outfit with another custom-made Jane Taylor fascinator.
The style of the hat is familiar with a small twist. It looks like a custom-made piece based on the label’s ‘Vesper’ model. Thanks to KateMiddStyle for the research work.
Adorning the outfit was the Cartier gold Shamrock brooch. The brooch was first worn by Queen Alexandra in 1901 when she visited the Irish Guards. The Queen Mother then took up the tradition of wearing it on St. Patrick’s Day. You can read more about the Brooch here.
The Princess of Wales was wearing her Emerald and diamond earrings. The design of the earrings is pretty similar to her Sapphire and diamond earrings that she loves so much.
Another new element of the look was Gianvito Rossi 105 suede pumps in teal. KateMiddStyle and Khilen on Twitter pointed out the label’s matching 85 suede pumps (shown above) so it’s possible the pumps were made on order in the 105 model.
Catherine was also carrying a matching teal suede bag and a pair of gloves. The bag definitely looks like an Emmy London design – Catherine has at least 15 bags from the brand in different shades and the label has designed a few of them on order for Catherine before launching them in the market.