The Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, attended the Welsh Guards Parade at Combermere Barracks in Windsor. Yesterday, the Royal couple made their first official visit to Wales of the year. The parade marks the country’s national day: the feast day for St. David, Wales’ patron saint. The Prince of Wales became the ceremonial Colonel of the Welsh Guards in December 2022. It was the first time, The Royal couple attended the parade.
The Parade is the annual event where the guards are presented with leeks, which feature on the cap badge of the regiment. The Welsh Guards are Wales’s Senior Infantry Regiment with a formidable reputation forged throughout the last century.
The Welsh Guards regiment was formed in 1915 and was the last of the British Army’s five Foot Guards regiments, coming into existence by order of the Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener, and by the King’s Royal Warrant. As well as guarding the monarch and carrying out ceremonial duties, it has served on active deployments with the British Army for over a century.
The Cap Badge leek is the national emblem of Wales. The Princess of Wales was wearing Welsh Guards Leek Brooch. The brooch matches the shape of the leek that features in the cap of the regiment. You can read more about the brooch here.
Giving his first speech as the Colonel, Prince William said, “I am both honoured and delighted to be standing here in front of you today as your new Colonel. I’m sorry that my father couldn’t be here with us today to say farewell, but I know he would talk of his fierce pride and admiration for you all, and of his own sadness to be moving on from an appointment he held so dear since 1975“.
After taking the salute, The Royal couple sat for a group photograph.
The Prince and Princess then met families from the regiment as well as troops from the 5th Royal Australian Regiment who are in the UK to train Ukrainian soldiers.
During the parade, The Princess also met with the guests and children present to attend the event. A young kid even performed a somersault for the Princess.
The event ended with the Welsh band performing a rendition of the Welsh national anthem which both The Prince and Princess sang in Welsh followed by “God Save The King” and a hearty three cheers for the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Heading towards The Princess of Wales’s style of the day – Catherine, always the sartorial diplomat, chose a red outfit. Red is the national colour of Wales.
The Princess of Wales was wearing an Alexander McQueen Red Coat that she first wore in October 2020 when she visited Hold Still 2020 Community Exhibition in London. This was the third time we saw Catherine wearing the coat. She again wore the coat in December 2020 during the Royal Train tour and in 2022 at the Rugby World cup.
Catherine was carrying her Mulberry Small Amberley Crossbody Black Soft Printed Croc bag that she debuted in February 2022 when she joined the then Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla for a joint engagement.
A surprise return was the Evica Gloves in black that remained unidentified for almost 17 years.
Catherine first wore the gloves in 2006 at Prince William’s Sandhurst passing out parade. FoundbyBojana confirmed the id with the label.
The Princess of Wales was wearing her customised black Gianvito Rossi boots that she wore yesterday too.
The Princess wore her Asprey London Daisy Heritage Earrings that she first wore on the first day of her Ireland visit.
