Kate in Alexander McQueen for Irish Guards Shamrock Ceremony

The Duchess wore a new coat by Alexander McQueen for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Shamrock Ceremony with the Irish Guards today.

The event began with a moment of silence for the victims of Friday’s terrorist attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand. ITV reports “The parade began with the Last Post, before a minute of silence was observed by the royals, the Irish Guards and their families who stood in memory of the 50 victims.”

Kate and William, who is Colonel of the Irish Guards, visited the Battalion at Cavalry Barracks late this morning.

More than 350 soldiers marched onto Parade Square on a brisk, sunny morning.

Members of the Irish Guards Band.

The Guards are a British Army regiment, founded by Queen Victoria in 1900 “in recognition of the many courageous acts of Irish soldiers” during the Second Boer War.

Kensington Palace noted that “The battalion currently has troops deployed in Uganda, Jordan, and Kenya.” The parade concludes with a march past as Prince William takes the salute.

Prince William affixing his shamrocks to his hat, placed behind the star pin on the front of the hat.

Below, Lieutenant Ollie Wettern doing the same.

The Duchess is given shamrocks that she then distributes to officers and warrant officers.

Another view. 

Kate and the unit’s mascot, an Irish Wolfhound named “Domhnall.” 

Domhnall means ‘world leader’ in Gaelic. Below, the Duchess and David Murray, the wolfhound’s handler.  

Tom Nellist reports in his story for The Express that “Drummer David Murray, Domnhall’s regimental handler, said the St Patrick’s Day parade was “number one” in his calendar and like a ‘second birthday.'”

Drummer Murray said: “We’ve had a week-long preparation as a battalion, we’ve had a couple of rehearsals, couple of little bits that we’ve had to obviously fine tune.

“Domhnall – he’s been in the battalion since 2012, he’s pretty good at his job… doesn’t really need to fine tune much so in regards to me and him it’s been quite a smooth week.”

“He helps me through the parade to be honest, he knows what he’s doing.”

The officers and soldiers also remove their hats and do a cheer for the Duke and Duchess. 

It was sunny but it was also windy.

Below, the Duke and Duchess arriving inside the Junior Ranks Cookhouse after the parade.

They enjoyed some refreshments, including a little Guinness.

The couple met soldiers and their families. 

The Duchess seemed to thoroughly enjoy her time at today’s engagement.

As did the Duke. 

How cute is this little one’s knit cap?

I think Kate made a few new friends. 

A posy for the Duchess from a young lady named Erin Laverty.

She also received flowers from two sisters, Jemima and Athene Irwin-Clark.

A quick video.

Today’s parade marks the end of ceremonial duties and the start of a busy overseas operational training period for @irish_guards. The battalion currently has troops deployed in Uganda, Jordan and Kenya. @KensingtonRoyal pic.twitter.com/VrzZAy0uW4

— British Army (@BritishArmy) March 17, 2019

The annual group photo was also taken.

Another view.

Now for our look at what Kate wore for today’s ceremonies.

Her coat appears to be modeled on a piece by Alexander McQueen, the brand’s Military Jacket (now sold out).

Like the original, Kate’s coat features a back peplum, darting at the neckline and concealed front placket. The Duchess’s peplum does not go around the front, nor is it two layers as seen on the product shots above.

The piece does keep the military references like the high collar and metal buttons. The original is described as being made of a lightweight wool/silk blend; my guess is that Kate’s might be made in slightly heavier material. You can see the similarities between today’s jacket and that worn on Remembrance Sunday last year.  

And in a classic Kate touch, her buttons have a Celtic theme (below left) as opposed to the style that came on the original jacket (r). 

Our thanks to Lauren for her quick ID of the piece.

Kate accessorized with her Jenny Packham ‘Roxy’ clutch. 

Many thanks to Data Duchess on Twitter for the bag ID.

She appeared to be wearing the Gianvito Rossi ‘Piper 85’ suede pumps ($695) first seen last week.

The style is suede, has a classic pointed toe and a block heel that is 85mm, roughly 3.5″. We show the heels at Barney’s ($695) where they are available in a mix of sizes; they are also offered in limited sizes at Neiman Marcus, at My Theresa, and in very limited sizes at Gianvito Rossi. I had a few emails asking about replikates for the shoe, here are two quick options from our RepliKate Footwear page: below left, the ‘Callen’ Black Suede Pumps ($33) from Lulu’s. Another option: the Sam Edelman Stillson Pump ($83.96) as shown at Nordstrom.

The Duchess wore the custom Kiki McDonough earrings that are said to have been a gift celebrating Princess Charlotte’s birth. 

They are a ‘special edition’ design with green tourmalines, green amethysts, and diamonds.

The Duchess also wore the Shamrock brooch, owned by the Guards and loaned to royal women taking part in ceremonial duties. It has previously been worn by the Queen Mother and Princess Anne.

The piece features textured gold leaves with an emerald in the center of the shamrock; it is believed to be by Cartier. In the center photo above we show it as worn to a June 2016 garden party in Northern Ireland.

Kate’s hair was up. We have not yet identified Kate’s hat. 

Michelle of Perth’s Fashion noted its similarity to several Lock and Company hats the Duchess has worn before, especially the precision-cut leaves on several styles. Below left, the Duchess at a February 2016 church service honoring the RAF Cadets 75th anniversary and on the right, today’s chapeau.

A closer look at today’s floral motif. 

Cornelia James believes the Duchess could be wearing their Imogen gloves. 

A review of Kate’s St. Patrick’s Day ensembles. 

NOTE: Apologies for the slow post, we have lost our internet connection on and off this afternoon.

VIDEO:

This Royal Channel Channel video runs about 3:30.

LINKAGE:

• The MOD’s official Irish Guards page is here; the Battalion’s Facebook page is here; its Twitter feed is here 
• Visit the Band of the Irish Guards Facebook page here, its official MOD page here; its Twitter feed is here
• The Daily Mail‘s coverage is here; The Express story is here; ITV’s piece is here; The Mirror has a story here; The Sun’s coverage is here; The Standard’s article and a gallery may be seen here 
• A PopSugar gallery is here; a People story is here; a Today Show piece is here; The Fug Girls post is here