Kate Middleton News: Princess of Wales will attend St Patrick’s Day parade next week in role as Colonel of Irish Guards, palace says

The Princess of Wales will be back at one of her favourite events next week, the St Patrick’s Day parade.

Catherine will attend in her role as Colonel of the Irish Guards and will present sprigs of shamrock to the Officers and Guardsmen and the Irish wolfhound mascot in Wellington Barracks.

The princess has long been associated with the regiment and in 2022 was named its honorary colonel, taking over from her husband Prince William. 

READ MORE: Queen Mary forced to cancel event last-minute due to illness

William held the title until the death of Queen Elizabeth II when he was named Colonel of the Welsh Guards, following his elevation to Prince of Wales.

Kate’s return to the event on Monday, March 17 – which is St Patrick’s Day – comes one year after she was forced to miss the parade following surgery and a subsequent cancer diagnosis.

In January last year, she underwent planned abdominal surgery at the London Clinic, near Regent’s Park in central London. At the time, Kensington Palace said the princess was due to remain in the private hospital for two weeks followed by an extended period of recovery at home.

However, on March 22, the Princess of Wales issued a personal message – filmed on the grounds of her Windsor home – revealing that she had been diagnosed with cancer.

Kate’s return to the St Patrick’s Day parade marks yet another step towards a busier program of public events after she was forced to step back from official duties while undergoing chemotherapy, which finished in September.

READ MORE: Queen Camilla wrote to Gisèle Pelicot to praise ‘extraordinary courage’

On Monday, she joined King Charles and Queen Camilla, and Prince William, at the Commonwealth Day service inside Westminster Abbey, another significant engagement she was forced to miss in 2024 along with the monarch who had revealed his own cancer diagnosis weeks before.

On Monday, Kate will take the salute as colonel following the parade before meeting veterans and their families.

The princess is likely to sample a pint of Guinness, as she has done before, while visiting the Sergeants’ Mess.

READ MORE: Prince William to make first overseas visit of the year but not with Kate

Last year, the Princess of Wales made her much-anticipated first public appearance of 2024 at the Trooping the Colour parade, with the Irish Guards taking the lead in the ceremony as the sovereign’s escort.

During the parade, their flag was “trooped” through the ranks of soldiers.

The regiment’s mascot, the Irish wolfhound named Seamus, also made an appearance during the parade.

A week earlier, Kate sent her apologies to the regiment after missing its rehearsal – the Colonel’s Review – something she would usually be present for.

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

All the defining photos of the British royal family in 2025

In a letter signed Colonel Catherine, the princess said it was a “great honour” to be the group’s ceremonial leader, and that she hoped to “be to able to represent you all once again very soon”.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.