The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge raised a glass on St. Patrick’s day for the first time since the start of the global health crisis.
Their Royal Highnesses joined the Irish Guards for their annual parade and celebration in Aldershot, 40 miles southwest of London. During the event, they handed out shamrocks and joined in the festivities with the guards at their barracks. The couple missed the event in 2020 because of concerns surrounding the global health crisis. It was then canceled the next year because a majority of the regiment was deployed overseas.
The Duke wore his uniform as Colonel of the Irish Guards. He saluted the regimental mascot Irish wolfhound Turlough Mor (also known as Seamus). As for the Duchess, she was all smiles in green as she presented the wolfhound with an emblematic shamrock sprig. After the parade, the Duke took the salute, and the couple posed for photos alongside soldiers of every rank.
It was 20-month-old Gaia Money who stole the spotlight from the celebration. The daughter of Colonel Rob Money, she wore his bearskin hat which had the Duchess asking: “That’s so sweet. Do you fit inside it?”
The toddler also grabbed two bouquets of flowers from Kate who laughed and asked: “Shall we swap? Now you have both of them.”
At the end of the visit, they spent time in the Junior Ranks dining hall meeting with soldiers and their families. They received a toast from the Senior Guardsmen of the 1st Battalion. Earlier in the day, the Duke and Duchess tweeted their wishes to those celebrating the holiday across the globe.
Earlier this week, the Cambridges attended the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. They are also gearing up for some royal tours in honour of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with their first visits starting on March 19th 2022.
