Kate Middleton marks St. Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards on March 17, 2025. Photo:
Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace
“Colonel Catherine” Kate Middleton is ringing a royal first this St. Patrick’s Day.
The Princess of Wales, 43, attended the Irish Guards’ annual St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 17 at the Wellington Barracks in London. While she’s been a regular at the event since 2012, this year marked the first time that Kate attended in her role as the Colonel of the Irish Guards without her husband, Prince William.
Princess Kate was named the Colonel of the Irish Guards in 2022, taking over the post from her husband in a reshuffling of royal roles following King Charles‘ accession to the throne that September. Prince William had served as Colonel of the Irish Guards since 2011, even wearing the unit’s scarlet tunic uniform when he married Kate.
Kate attended St. Patrick’s Day for the first time as Colonel in 2023, but she was accompanied by William. They both gave speeches at the event, with Prince William attending as the outgoing Colonel and Princess Kate appearing as the incoming Colonel. Princess Kate led the way at the St. Patrick’s Day parade that year, where she took the salute, inspected the front rank and raised a pint of Guinness alongside her husband in one of the day’s cherished traditions.
Kate Middleton and Prince William mark St. Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards on March 17, 2023. Samir Hussein/WireImage
Even before becoming the Colonel, Kate regularly joined William at the holiday event. She even stepped in for her husband at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in 2012, marking her first solo military engagement as a working member of the royal family. There, she handed out shamrocks to servicemen and supported the soldiers on the holiday.
Prince William went to the parade without his wife in 2016, taking on the job as Kate spent extra time with their children, Prince George, now 11, and Princess Charlotte, now 9, before she and William undertook a major tour to India and Bhutan. (The couple’s youngest son, Prince Louis, now 6, wasn’t born yet and made them a family of five in 2018.)
William and Kate didn’t spend St. Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards in 2020, as most of the regiment was deployed overseas, or in 2021, when the celebration was curtailed as the COVID pandemic swept the globe. The couple made their royal return to the festive event in 2022.
Prince William and Kate Middleton marks St. Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards on March 17, 2023. CHRIS JACKSON/POOL/AFP via Getty
The Princess of Wales was unable to make the Irish Guards’ St. Patrick’s Day procession in March 2024 while recovering from what Kensington Palace described as a “planned abdominal surgery” in January. The regiment paid homage to the princess by giving three cheers in her name at the event instead, and Kate reportedly paid the bar tab for their post-parade celebrations in Aldershot after.
Days later, Princess Kate shared that she was receiving treatment for cancer and subsequently reduced her duties to focus on her health for the rest of the year. The Princess of Wales said in September that she completed chemotherapy and announced on Jan. 14 that she is “in remission.”
Kate has returned to work in full force in the weeks since.
Kate Middleton marks St. Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards on March 17, 2025. Chris Jackson/Getty
Mascot handler Drummer Joseph Aldridge, 27 — who manages the unit’s mascot, an Irish Wolfhound who goes by the nickname Seamus — tells PEOPLE having the Princess of Wales at the parade 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 says.
“He’s the fan favorite. Not just with the royal family but everyone,” Aldridge tells PEOPLE of the pup, who received a sweet pat from Princess Kate on parade day.
Kate Middleton marks St. Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards on March 17, 2025. Chris Jackson/Getty
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On what it means to have the royal back in action, Aldridge adds, “I’m sure everyone on the parade was proud to see her here.”
Kate Middleton marks St. Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards on March 17, 2025. Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace
