Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be the guests of honour at this year’s Irish Guards’ St Patrick’s Day Parade in Aldershot. HRH The Duke of Cambridge will attend as Colonel of the Regiment and Her Royal Highness will present the traditional sprigs of shamrock to the Officers and Guardsmen on Monday 17th March.
300 soldiers will march on to the parade square at their base, Mons Barracks marching behind the Band of the Irish Guards; they will, of course, be accompanied by Domhnall their Irish Wolf Hound regimental mascot, who will receive his own sprig of shamrock from the Duchess. Joining the Irish Guards on parade this year will be a Company of Reserve Soldiers from the London Regiment with whom they are paired under the new Army2020 restructuring process.
Her Royal Highness will step forward to present the shamrock to officers and warrant officers who, in turn, will issue it out along the ranks. This follows a century-old tradition inaugurated by Queen Alexandra, the wife of the then King, Edward VII back in 1901.
