by Kim Parker
In her role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Irish Guards, Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, has traditionally worn her golden shamrock brooch to fulfil her annual custom of presenting fresh shamrocks to the Irish Guards on parade each St. Patrick’s day. This year, she once again showcased the brooch as she inspected the guards on parade at London’s Wellington Barracks (and even joined them for a half pint of Guinness), this time pinned to a forest green Alexander McQueen suit. She also wore a pair of pale green tourmaline, amethyst and diamond earrings by one of her favourite British jewellery designers, Kiki McDonough.
It was the first time the Princess had attended the parade on her own since she was appointed to the role as Colonel-in-Chief in 2022, when she assumed the role from her husband, Prince William. She missed last year’s parade owing to her recovery from abdominal surgery, shortly after which she announced that she had also been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer.
The Princess has an enviable jewellery collection at her disposal, including gorgeous pieces inherited from Princess Diana (including her famous sapphire engagement ring, which she received from Prince William in October 2010) or were passed down from the late Queen Elizabeth, such as her four-strand pearl necklace and the Lover’s Knot Tiara.
But interestingly, the shamrock brooch isn’t actually owned by Kate or by the Royal Family. The piece uniquely belongs to the Irish Guards and is loaned out to royal women who are associated with their regiment. It is reported to have been created in 1961 by Cartier for Princess Mary, the Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, and is crafted from 18 carat yellow gold with a central emerald stone. Following Mary’s death in 1965, the piece was acquired by the Irish Guards at an auction of her personal affects, and was later worn by both the late Queen Mother and Princess Anne, who also sported it to present sprigs of clover to the Irish Guards in the early 2000s.
The shamrock itself is especially associated with the country of Ireland, where it is a symbol of Saint Patrick – who said to have used its trio of heart-shaped leaves to explain the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity. The annual presentation of shamrocks to the Irish Guards by a senior royal is a traditional that began with Princess Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII, in 1901 (her mother-in-law, Queen Victoria, had established the regiment just the year before, in recognition of the acts of bravery performed by Irish soldiers during the Second Boer War).
In 2011, the shamrock brooch became the first pin worn by Kate in her official capacity as a working Royal, when she debuted it at a presentation of service medals at Victoria Barracks, and she has been the only member of the Family to have worn it in public since then. She has also donned it for Beating the Retreat in 2019, when the band of the Irish Guards were on display at Horse Guards Parade, and for Trooping The Colour in 2023, the first parade after the Princess had assumed her honorary role with the regiment.
As with her dignified, solo appearance at Wellington Barracks, the pin – with all its symbolic references to faith and hope – is an elegant way of semaphoring that the Princess of Wales is taking her return to working life seriously and that she, like the Irish Guards themselves, is very much back on parade.
Like this? Take a closer look at the pearls Kate Middleton wore on Commonwealth Day.
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