Kate and William celebrate St Patrick’s Day for first time since pandemic

Kate and William attended the 1st Battalion Irish Guards’ St. Patrick’s Day parade in Hampshire this morning (Picture: Getty/Reuters)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were full of smiles as they marked St Patrick’s Day alongside a gigantic Irish Wolfhound.

William and Kate presented sprigs of shamrock to officers during a visit to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards at Mons Barracks in Hampshire.

But it was 20-month-old Gaia Money who stole the spotlight.

The toddler grabbed two bouquets of flowers from Kate, who laughed and said: ‘Shall we swap? Now you have both of them.’

When Gaia’s father, Lieutenant Colonel Rob Money, placed his bearskin hat over his daughter’s head, the duchess added: ‘That’s so sweet. Do you fit inside it?’

Gaia’s mother Lorraine Money said: ‘The duchess was lovely. Gaia took both bouquets and she let her keep them. Gaia has been practicing her curtsey at nursery school but failed!

‘I am from Jamaica and we spoke about Jamaica as they are going there next week.’

Today’s parade had been eagerly-awaited by royal fans, as the pandemic put a stop to St Patrick’s Day celebrations over the last two years.

Kate wore a £3,200 Laura Green London forest green coat and a smart hat by Lock & Co for the special occasion.

The Duchess of Cambridge smiles as she pets the Irish Guards mascot Seamus (Picture: Reuters)

The Irish Wolfound proudly led the parade as excited crowds watched on (Picture: Reuters)

Shamrock sprigs were presented by the royals to mark St Patrick’s Day (Picture: PA)

Young Gaia Money exchanges bouquets of flowers with Kate and William (Picture: Reuters)

She completed her look with a gold shamrock brooch on her lapel.

Meanwhile, William, who is Colonel of the Irish Guards, wore his traditional uniform.

Kate also had the additional honour of presenting a shamrock to the regiment’s Irish Wolfhound mascot – Turlough Mór.

The two-year-old dog, known as Seamus, is the 17th Regimental Mascot of the Irish Guards.

More: Royal Family

You can move in next door to the Queen as former station master's house on sale for £1.2m

Queen hiring decorator for £30,000 a year to give Buckingham Palace a lick of paint

Queen 'may never carry out major public engagements ever again'

He is named after the ancient Irish King Turlough Mór of Connaught.

Kate gently stroked the dog’s head after she attached the sprig to his collar, which is engraved with the names of previous canine mascots who came before him.

Seamus stood proudly in his red uniform before turning to lead the St Patrick’s Day parade.

This is the first time the parade has been held since the outbreak of coronavirus (Picture: Reuters)

The Duchess of Cambridge walks through the Mons Barracks in Aldershot, Hampshire (Picture: PA)

The couple also met members of Regiments and toured the Junior Ranks dining hall during the royal visit.

The Irish Guards were formed in 1900, by order of Queen Victoria, in honour of regiments fighting the Boer War in South Africa.

Since then, they have served in every major conflict, most recently in Afghanistan.

In other royal news today, the BBC has paid ‘a substantial sum’ in damages to Princess Diana’s private secretary.

Bosses apologised ‘unreservedly’ to Patrick Jephson over the way Martin Bashir obtained a 1995 Panorama exclusive interview with the mother-of-two.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

from News – Metro https://ift.tt/MCUKg2r