Kate Middleton marks St. Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards on March 17, 2025. Photo:
Samir Hussein/WireImage
Kate Middleton made her St. Patrick’s Day comeback in style.
The Princess of Wales, 43, made a triumphant return to Wellington Barracks in Westminster in London on March 17 after missing the parade last year due to her ongoing health battle.
Wearing a bespoke dark green tailored Alexander McQueen coat last seen on a visit to Boston in November 2022, topped with a matching felt beret style hat with floral detail, it was a classic look for the occasion.
The hat, made by Awon Golding for Lock & Co. (fun fact: the oldest hat shop in the world!), was last worn by Kate in 2019 for the same St. Patrick’s Day event. Worn with her favorite black suede knee-high boots and green tourmaline and diamond Kiki McDonough earrings, she carried the same Grace Han “Love Letter” black bag she wore to the Six Nations Rugby game in Cardiff on Sunday.
Chris Jackson/Getty
Green has historically been Kate’s go-to hue for the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations with the Irish Guards, choosing the color most closely associated with the Irish holiday.
She is known to complete the look with the golden Irish Guards brooch (shaped like a shamrock!) and place a fresh sprig of shamrocks to pin onto her outfit, which the guards also tack to their tunics.
Kate Middleton attends St. Patrick’s Day through the years. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images (2); Paul Vicente – WPA Pool/Getty Images
The Princess of Wales made a surprise decision to wear teal in 2023, the last time she attended the event, which was an especially memorable ceremony as her first in the role of honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards. However, there was a symbolic meaning behind the look as the Catherine Walker & Co. teal coat matched the plumes worn in the bearskin caps by the 1st Battalion Irish Guards. The plume was selected because it’s the color of the mantle and sash of the Order of St. Patrick.
The only time Kate chose to forgo green completely was in 2015 when she wore a wool crepe chestnut brown coat by Catherine Walker & Co. which had been modified in style to accommodate her pregnancy, as she was expecting Princess Charlotte.
Kate Middleton marks St. Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards on March 17, 2023. Chris Jackson/Getty
Monday’s outing marked a return for the royal, who was unable to make the parade last year. At the time, Princess Kate was recovering from an abdominal surgery that happened in January. The Irish Guards honored her by giving three cheers in her name at the end of the annual parade, and Kate shared later in March that she was receiving treatment for cancer. (The Princess of Wales said in September that she completed chemotherapy and shared on Jan. 14 that she is in remission.)
Princess Kate was named the Colonel of the Irish Guards in 2022 but has commemorated St. Patrick’s Day with the unit for much longer. The royal has spent St. Patrick’s with the regiment almost every year since marrying Prince William in 2011. Queen Elizabeth named her grandson as honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards in 2011, shortly before he married Kate, and the couple attended many of the regiment’s St. Patrick’s Day parades together.
Kate became the unit’s ceremonial head when King Charles reshuffled several royal roles following his accession upon his mother’s death in September 2022, and she told the soldiers at the 2023 St. Patrick’s Day parade “true honor” to be their Colonel.
Kate Middleton marks St. Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards on March 17, 2025. Chris Jackson/Getty
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