It's Welsh Red & a Leek Brooch for the Princess of Wales on St David's Day

Happy St David's Day to all celebrating!

Fresh from a day of engagements in South Wales yesterday, the Prince and Princess of Wales were back on home turf in Windsor to visit the Welsh Guards in Combermere Barracks.

The couple were in attendance due to William's new role as Colonel of the Welsh Guards, a title previously held by his father.

It meant Kate took on the position as Colonel of the Irish Guards previously held by her husband (we should see her first official appearance in the role on St Patrick's Day).

William and Kate arriving.

The Prince & Princess of Wales arrive at the the St David's Day Parade pic.twitter.com/9bYfjJSyKY

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Kate was presented with flowers by Elis-Haf Cunningham -- daughter of WO2 Cunningham.

Kate spent time with families.

And especially enjoyed chatting with the children.

The Prince presented Leeks (the National emblem of Wales) to officers and guardsmen who in turn issued it along the ranks. The age-old tradition dates back to the Dark Age Welsh King Cadwaladr, who when approached by the enemy ordered his soldiers to distinguish themselves by wearing leeks that were growing nearby.

The regimental cap badge is the leek.

The Princess was presented with her own Leek emblem.

Prince William took the Royal Salute.

The official Army website notes: "The Welsh Guards have a dual role. We are Light Role Infantry, allowing us to lead from the front as a mobile and flexible attack force and deploy on operations around the world. We are also world class ceremonial soldiers, guarding the Royal Family and Royal palaces such as Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London and conducting State Ceremonial duties. Our red tunics and bearskins are recognisable all over the world."

The Welsh Guards was formed in 1915 by order of King George V. Over the past century they have distinguished themselves and joined in practically every British Army campaign since World War I. Notable points in their history include winning battle honours in the Falklands War in 1982 and leading the assault during Operation Panchai Palang in Afghanistan. They celebrated their centenary in 2015.

In 2020, 1st Battalion paraded for Queen Elizabeth II's birthday at Windsor Castle, marking the first unit to celebrate a sovereign’s birthday in Windsor since Queen Victoria’s birthday in 1895.

The motto of the Regiment is “Cymru Am Byth” which translates to “Wales Forever”.

On Facebook today, the regiment shared: "Happy St David’s Day to all of our serving members of the Battalion, families, veterans, brother sisters serving in other Welsh Regiments and fans of the Regiment! Today we celebrate the patron Saint of Wales and honour the rich heritage and culture of this amazing and proud nation."

Saint David, patron Saint of Wales, was born into an aristocratic family in Caerfai. He was a much-loved teacher and went on to found twelve monasteries. David's last words to the community of monks were: "Brothers be ye constant. The yoke which with single mind ye have taken, bear ye to the end; and whatsoever ye have seen with me and heard, keep and fulfil."

Festivities on St David's day include wearing daffodils (the national flower of Wales) and leeks, eating Welsh cakes, rarebit and wearing traditional Welsh dress. Every year an increasing number of parades take place. Schoolchildren take part in concerts and songs are sung. Last year, William and Kate marked the day with engagements in Wales.

I expect the St David's Day Parade will became a new tradition.

During a speech William said he was "honoured" to join the Welsh Guards today. "At the same time, I'm sorry that my father couldn't be here with us here today to say farewell, but I know he would talk of his fierce pride and admiration for you all, and of his own sadness to be moving on from an appointment he held so dear since 1975."

William continued: "Another key milestone in my life was also shared with the Welsh Guards, this time in the jungles of Belize as I received my A-Level results over the Bowman Radio… Many of you will know the feeling of being in the jungle; you're incredibly hot, continuously soaking wet and with nowhere to hide from potentially horrendous results, it could have been a really bad day! Ultimately though, it was the camaraderie, the togetherness and, of course, the banter of the Welsh Guards that got me through that period, and it's a time I look back on fondly."

In a statement today, the regiment said: "St David’s Day traditionally marks the start of Spring and this year for the Guards it is a marker of their change of role from operational to ceremonial duties. The Battalion has spent the last two years fully committed to their combat infantry role across the world. Now begins a countdown to demonstrating their ceremonial excellence in front of a global audience. The dual role soldiers will soon begin preparations for the new King’s Birthday Parade at which they will Troop their Colour." They are "looking forward" to the Coronation of their former Royal Colonel and now their Colonel in Chief, the King.

Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel John Livesey said: "St David's Day is a particularly key date for the Welsh Guards. It was on 1 March 1915 that we mounted our first King's Guard and began our service to the Monarch. It is therefore particularly special and fitting that on St David's Day we get to welcome HRH The Prince of Wales into the family as our new Royal Colonel." He closed with regiment motto "Wales Forever" (Cymru Am Byth).

The Band of the Welsh Guards playing at the reception.

Kate was impressed by a young boy named Thomas's backflip.

The Mail Online writes:

'She asked his parents ‘who he gets his back-flipping talents from’ and Thomas responded that he had taught himself. The primary school pupil explained to the royal visitor that he was really into ‘parkour’, a popular type of ‘free running’ that involves athletically vaulting, jumping and climbing over obstacles to get from one point to another as quickly as possible.

Kate – who had referred to it as dancing - said ‘not dancing sorry - I need to learn all this lingo I’m not very good at it’.

Speaking after the parade, Thomas’ father, Sergeant Gareth Lucas, joked that it was typical behaviour for his son, calling him ‘non-stop’.

Pointing at both of his boys, he said: ’They’re both into parkour now, they go to classes every week. ‘Thomas self-taught himself backflips on YouTube - he just came home from school one day saying ‘I’ve learned to do a backflip’”.'

The couple sat for an official photograph.

A closer look.

The Princess of Wales was regal in Welsh red.

Kate's Alexander McQueen coat (with thanks to UFO No More) is a custom version of the brand's asymmetric hem, double-breasted, slim-fit coat. Kate's piece has a different even hem. The sold out coat can be viewed at Selfridges.

Kate's dress underneath is red, and I suspect also McQueen. As noted by readers, the black portion appears to be her scarf. We can see a glimpse of it below with Kate's Gianvito Rossi suede boots.

The Princess carried her black Mulberry Amberley bag.

Kate shopped her wardrobe (all the way back to William's Sandhurst Parade in 2006) for her black gloves today.

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Found By Bojana via Twitter notes they are by designer Evica Milovanov-Penezic who once revealed Kate saw her gloves in a small shop in London and returned to buy them...in addition to another nine pairs of her designs. Evica works with a number of brands including Roksanda.

The Princess selected an elegant black hat by Juliette Botterill Millinery. 

Her Asprey London Daisy earrings. The £17,000 pair are described as: "Individually set micro marquise diamond petals and a pavé diamond centre, all set in 18ct white gold."

And an intricate updo.

Very fittingly, Kate completed the look with a leek brooch. There are several leek brooches frequently worn by royal ladies in the family. I'll update when I know if this is one worn by Queen Elizabeth II or another.

A lovely first St David's Day for the new Prince and Princess of Wales.

A reader just asked if William and Kate will participate in Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marie's visit to the UK and the answer is yes. Christin Z confirms the Waleses will meet them tomorrow.