The Princess of Wales wowed in a festive green coat dress for St Patrick’s day – but attached to her lapel was a traditional sprig of Shamrock and a matching Cartier brooch.
Kate, 43, made her solo return to the celebration in the Wellington Barracks in Westminster, London, where she sipped on a pint of Guinness and was presented with the lush sprigs by a member of the guards.
The three-leaved shamrock is a popular symbol of Ireland and St Patrick- it grows all over the country, and takes its name from early Irish word seamair óg, or ‘young clover’.
Its association with St Patrick began centuries ago, when it was said that he used the plant’s three leaves as a symbol of the Holy Trinity while preaching Christianity in Ireland in the fifth century.
Each year on St Patrick’s Day shamrocks are distributed to the Irish Guards who serve in the British Armed Forces. During times of war shamrocks are sent to troops on active duty, often placed inside their Kevlar helmets for good luck.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were also seen wearing young sprigs of Shamrock on their garments as they celebrated St Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards in March 2023, during a Parade at Mons army Barracks in Aldershot, England.
But although the future queen pinned the plant to her Alexander McQueen coat with a beaming smile across her face, many may be unaware that the shamrock tradition has a grisly history.
Queen Victoria decided the celebrations should include the ‘wearing of green’ in 1900 in support of one of the British Empire’s most brutal and bloody wars – The Boer War.
The Princess of Wales, smiles as she joins the Irish Guards, their veterans, families, serving soldiers, reservists, and young cadets from Northern Ireland, at a special St Patrick’s Day parade
Princess of Wales presents traditional sprigs of shamrock to Officers and Guardsmen of the Irish Guard
Kate, who is colonel of the regiment after taking over from her husband, missed the Guards’ annual occasion last year as she was undergoing treatment for cancer
On February 19, 1900, Queen Victoria received a fourteen-year old bugler from The Royal Dublin Fusiliers. His name was James Dunne and he had been wounded in the arm and chest at Colenso on 15 December 1899, where he had also lost his bugle in the Tugela river, according to the Royal Irish.
‘Victoria thought he was “a nice-looking modest boy” and presented him with a new and inscribed bugle. Shortly after her encounter with Private Dunne, and following news of the heavy losses in the Boer fighting, Victoria’s heartfelt reaction, dated February 28, 1900, was telegraphed to General Sir Redvers Buller’.
It was published in Natal Army Orders on March 5, 1900: ‘I have heard with the deepest concern of the heavy losses sustained by my brave Irish soldiers. I desire to express my sympathy and my admiration of the splendid fighting qualities which they have exhibited throughout these trying operations’.
Following this, on March 14, 1900, Natal Army Orders promulgated an instruction stating: ‘Her Majesty the Queen is pleased to order that in future on Saint Patrick’s Day all ranks in Her Majesty’s Irish regiments shall wear as a distinction a sprig of shamrock in their head-dress to commemorate the gallantry of Her Irish soldiers during the recent battles in South Africa’.
This meant that March 17, 1900, was the first opportunity for Irish soldiers to wear their shamrock, as prior to this date the ‘Wearin’ of the Green’ had been banned.
Victoria then told her ministers ‘I have decided to pay a visit to Ireland to thank those brave Irishmen’ and visited from April 4 to April 25, 1900.
The princess pinned the sprig of shamrock to her lapel, making for a very festive display
Princess of Wales during the 2025 Irish Guards’ St. Patrick’s Day Parade at Wellington Barracks
The Princess of Wales, poses for a photo with members of the Irish Guards
The Princess of Wales greeted young participants, wearing the traditional sprigs
When she arrived in Kingstown Harbour she wore a large sprig of shamrock and carried a parasol edged with embroidered shamrocks.
The Queen’s idea was to pick the shamrock, retain as much root as possible, and then wrap and pack consignments in damp moss.
These were then posted to arrive for sale in London by St Patrick’s Day.
The wearing of a sprig of shamrock on St Patrick’s Day is a symbol to commemorate Irishmen who fell in battle during the Anglo-Boer War. As a symbol of remembrance it preceded the red poppy.
Since the 1800 Acts of Union between Britain and Ireland the shamrock was incorporated into the Royal Coat of Arms, depicted growing from a single stem alongside the rose of England, and the of Scotland to symbolise the unity of the three kingdoms.
Since then, the shamrock has regularly appeared alongside the rose, thistle and leek for Wales in British coins and stamps.
The rose, thistle and shamrock motif also appears regularly on British public buildings such as Buckingham Palace.
Kate on Monday wore the sprig proudly as she paid homage to the fallen Irish soldiers.
Alongside the fresh sprig, she also wore a golden Cartier brooch in the shape of the three-leaved plant.
The princess looked as regal as ever as she participated in the day’s events
After arriving at Wellington Barracks in Westminster, central London, Kate inspected the troops before being presented with traditional sprigs of shamrock to a member of the guards
The Princess of Wales dressed in festive green today as she arrived at the Irish Guards’ St Patrick’s Day parade, before being presented with a shamrock
Loaned to members of the Royal Family by the Irish Guards in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, Kate initially wore this leafy brooch to a medal parade for the regiment at Victoria Barracks in 2011, shortly after her wedding to Prince William.
It’s reported to be the first broach she ever wore as an official member of the Royal Family.
Made from 18 carat yellow gold, it features a tiny, single emerald at the centre of the leaves and has an estimated value of £2,250.
Believed to have been designed by Cartier, the brooch was reportedly presented to Princess Mary by the regiment in 1961 and after her passing in 1965, it was bought by the regiment at an auction of her personal jewellery.
It’s since been worn by both the Queen Mother and Princess Anne – the Queen Mother was pictured wearing the piece in 2000 and following her death in 2002, Princess Anne appeared to wear the pin annually on St Patrick’s Day.
However Kate is now thought to be the only royal to exclusively wear it.
As well as to St Patrick’s Day celebrations, Kate has also worn the brooch on several visits to Northern Ireland.
During Monday’s celebrations Kate knelt down to pet the regimental mascot Turlough Mór, an adorable Irish Wolfhound known as Seamus. She then gifted him a sprig of shamrock.
The Princess of Wales dressed in festive green today as she was saluted by Irish Guards’ at the St Patrick’s Day parade before sipping on a pint of Guinness
In a further sweet moment, Kate knelt down to pet the regimental mascot Turlough Mór, an adorable Irish Wolfhound known as Seamus
Known to dress to theme, the Princess of Wales looked gorgeous in green today
Later, inside the Junior Ranks dining hall, Kate sipped on a pint of Guinness as a senior guardsman toasted her, but didn’t quite manage to ‘split the G’ instead choosing to savour the drink slowly.
‘Three cheers for the colonel in the regiment,’ he said before raucous applause.
Kate, who is colonel of the regiment after taking over from her husband, missed the Guards’ annual occasion last year as she was undergoing treatment for cancer.
But the royal, who is gradually returning to public duties, dressed in a lucky green Alexander McQueen coat dress as she came back today.
She styled her look with black heeled boots and a percher hat, and added a Shamrock pin, while tucked her hair up into a sleek updo and opting for a light make-up look.
She added Kiki McDonough Green Tourmaline earrings to her look – which she also wore at the St Patrick’s Day Parade in 2018 and 2019.
In a very sweet gesture, the future queen also put money behind the bar for guardsmen, saying it’s ‘the least she could do’.
She later took the official salute from the Irish Guards, raising their Bearskin caps into the air.
After taking the salute on the dais, she handed out shamrocks to Guardsmen and officers.
