William And Kate To Attend This Public Event After Two-Year Absence
Prince William and Kate Middleton are set to make their exciting return to the St Patrick’s Day Parade, following two years of absence from the event.
A statement released by Kensington Palace confirmed the news. “The Duke of Cambridge, Colonel of the Irish Guards, accompanied by The Duchess of Cambridge, will visit the 1st Battalion Irish Guards at the St Patrick’s Day Parade, Mons Barracks in Aldershot on Thursday 17th March. This will be the first time The Duke and Duchess have attended the parade since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Last year’s parade was called off due to the pandemic, so the couple couldn’t attend after also missing the 2020 one, which was also called off, that time due to the fact that a majority of the regiment was deployed overseas.
The statement confirms that the royal couple will present the traditional sprigs of shamrock to officers and guardsmen of the regiment, who will, in turn, hand them out among the ranks.
Kate will also be the one to present the Irish Wolf Hound regimental mascot with its own spring of shamrock.
Prince William will also have a part to do, as the event will close off with a march-past, so the Prince will be the one taking the salute.
After the parade, the Duke and Duchess will meet with members of the regiment, as well as having official photographs taken with every rank within the British Army.
The two will then visit the Junior Ranks dining hall, where senior guardsmen will propose a toast to the royal couple.
Even though the event was canceled in 2020, the couple did not forget the event, as they shared a tribute, sharing photographs of the Irish Guards in their deployments in South Sudan and Iraq.
The caption on the post shared by their official Instagram account read: “The Irish Guards, known affectionately throughout the Army as ‘the Micks’, is an Irish regiment which has proven its loyalty and grit on many tough operations.” Finishing off the caption with: “As the Regiment’s motto challenges, ‘QuisSeparabit’ — ‘Who Shall Separate Us?'”