Princess of Wales drinks Guinness at St Patrick’s Day event

The Princess of Wales sipped half a pint of Guinness as she celebrated St Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards.

Catherine, dressed in bottle-green and wearing a percher hat, presented the traditional sprigs of shamrock to officers, guardsmen and mascot Seamus, the Irish wolfhound, at the regiment’s annual parade at Wellington Barracks.

She then joined soldiers for a drink and was thanked for putting money behind the bar, replying “that’s the least I can do”.

The princess, who has been colonel of the regiment since 2023, missed the celebrations last year after being diagnosed with cancer.

Prior to the parade, Catherine awarded medals for long service and good conduct to soldiers who recently returned from deployment in Iraq.

She then took the salute as colonel during a traditional march-past.

After the ceremony, she spent time in the junior ranks’ dining hall, where senior guardsman proposed a toast in her honour.

Drinking half a pint of Guinness, she chatted with soldiers about their experiences on deployment.

Guardsman Barry Loughlin, who led the toast, said afterwards: “She wanted to know how things were going with the blokes in general.

“She was really nice and really warm. I was kind of flustered.

“You could tell she had a genuine interest in us.”

Catherine then went to the sergeants’ mess where she met with relatives of soldiers serving overseas, including those involved in training Ukrainian troops.

The event dates back to the first regimental St Patrick’s Day in 1901.