Catherine, Princess of Wales, best known as Kate Middleton, paid a visit to the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards at Combermere Barracks for the St. David’s Day Parade on Wednesday in Windsor, England, wearing a vibrant coat.
The Princess of Wales joined her husband, Prince William, who is colonel of the regiment of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards as of December, in meeting soldiers, wearing a red wool statement coat from Alexander McQueen and black block-heel boots with a pointed toe from Gianvito Rossi. She accessorized with a small crocodile-embossed crossbody bag in black from Mulberry that she used as a top-handle bag, a fascinator from Jules Millinery with a bow accent and black leather gloves from Evica Gloves. For jewelry, she wore small diamond earrings and added a leek brooch to her coat. Leeks are worn by Welsh soldiers to celebrate St. David’s guidance in a battle against the Saxons.
Related Galleries
Prince William joined the princess wearing a traditional gray military coat and black guard’s hat. The Prince of Wales was given the title of Colonel of the Welsh Guards by his father, King Charles, who previously held the title before becoming England’s monarch following the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
In addition to meeting with the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, Prince William and Princess Catherine met with the 5th Royal Australian Regiment. Prince William spoke to them about their role in training Ukrainian Armed Forces in the United Kingdom.
As part of the annual St. David’s Day traditions, Prince William presented leeks to the officers and guardsmen. On the @KensingtonRoyal Twitter account, which is the official account of the Prince and Princess of Wales, William tweeted, “Honoured and delighted to be the new Colonel of the Welsh Guards and to join friends, families and loved ones for the #StDavidsDay parade at Combermere Barracks this lunchtime.”