The Princess of Wales joined the Irish Guards to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, where she sipped half a pint of Guinness during the event.
Dressed in a deep green outfit with a matching hat, Catherine carried out her traditional duty of handing out sprigs of shamrock to officers, guardsmen, and Seamus, the regiment’s Irish wolfhound mascot, at the annual parade at Wellington Barracks.
She also treated the soldiers by covering the cost of drinks at the bar, saying, “That’s the least I can do.”
As the colonel of the regiment since 2023, Catherine missed last year’s celebrations due to her cancer diagnosis.
Before the parade, she presented medals for long service and good conduct to soldiers who had recently returned from Iraq. She then led the march-past as the regiment’s colonel.
After the formal ceremony, Catherine joined the junior ranks in their dining hall, where a senior guardsman proposed a toast in her honor. While drinking Guinness, she engaged in conversations with soldiers about their time on deployment.
Guardsman Barry Loughlin, who led the toast, said afterwards: “She wanted to know how things were going with the blokes in general.
“She was really nice and really warm. I was kind of flustered.
“You could tell she had a genuine interest in us.”
Catherine then went to the sergeants’ mess where she met with relatives of soldiers serving overseas, including those involved in training Ukrainian troops.
The event dates back to the first regimental St Patrick’s Day in 1901.
