Why Kate Middleton could experience a huge royal first this week in Prince William’s place

There’s a very good reason why Kate Middleton could experience a huge royal first this week in Prince William’s place. 

• The Princess of Wales became the Colonel of the Irish Guards in December 2022, taking over from Prince William who’d held this position since 2011.  
• Kate Middleton could take the salute of the Irish Guards this St Patrick’s Day if she attends their annual parade as she has in previous years.
• This royal news comes as it was reported that Prince Harry's children Archie and Lilibet have not been invited to King Charles' coronation. 

Recent months have seen Kate Middleton experience many a royal first, from her first engagement in Wales since becoming Princess of Wales to her first time watching the England Rugby team in person since becoming their patron. Now in a matter of days Kate Middleton could experience an equally huge royal first as she might take Prince William’s place to receive a special honor on St Patrick’s Day. 

Over the years fans have regularly seen Prince William and Princess Kate attend the Irish Guards' St Patrick’s Day parade at Mons Barracks in Aldershot. However, this year's parade will likely be very different as in December last year Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla were granted major new roles by King Charles and the Princess of Wales is now their Colonel. 

Prior to her taking on this prestigious new position it was held by Prince William for eleven years. During his time as Colonel, Prince William took the salute from the regiment on St Patrick’s Day. Given he no longer holds this position, it would make sense that if the St Patrick’s Day parade visit happens again this year, the Princess of Wales will be taking the salute on Friday, March 17 instead of him. This would be her first time doing so and would be a huge honor for the future Queen Consort. 

Taking the salute sees a person of high rank, in this case Kate Middleton, standing and watching as they are formally acknowledged by the regiment marching past. In line with what we’ve seen from the couple in previous years she could also continue to hand out shamrock sprigs to officers and guardsmen who ensure they’re distributed amongst the ranks.

Founded by Queen Victoria the Irish Guards have an annual St Patrick’s Day Parade each year, except for 2021 due to the pandemic and 2020 when the majority of the battalion were deployed. Last year the Prince and Princess of Wales paid a visit and Kate Middleton’s green coat wowed us and she was also snapped delightedly interacting with their Irish Wolfhound mascot.

Two months before Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011, the future King was made Colonel of the Irish Guards. It was this uniform that he wore on their big day and which the Queen reportedly insisted upon. 

Now over a decade later the Princess of Wales has taken on this role and just a few weeks ago met the battalion for the first time as Colonel. Kate Middleton braved the snow in a full camo outfit on March 8 at Salisbury Plain as she learnt more about how they operate and took part in battlefield casualty drills.

“The work of the Irish Guards is as wide-ranging as it is exemplary, from training park rangers on counter-poaching in East Africa to de-mining training for Ukrainian Armed Forces,” declared the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media caption for a post about this significant outing.