The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are to celebrate the St. Patrick's Day parade with the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards today (March 17) after being absent for two years.
Last year celebrations were ground to a halt due to the pandemic whilst it was also cancelled the year before due to many of the regiment being deployed overseas.
A statement from Kensington Palace read: "The Duke of Cambridge, Colonel of the Irish Guards, accompanied by the Duchess of Cambridge, will visit the 1st Battalion Irish Guards at the St Patrick's Day Parade, Mons Barracks in Aldershot on Thursday March 17.
"This will be the first time the Duke and Duchess have attended the parade since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic."
During the parade, the royal couple are set to present a traditional gift of sprigs of shamrock to officers and guardsmen who will distribute them across the ranks.
However a 12-year-old rule may have been broken, reports the Express.
The duty is traditionally carried out by a female member of the Royal Family. Kate is following in the footsteps of Queen Alexandra who began the tradition back in 1901.
For many years the Queen Mother performed the duty which was then followed by Princess Anne.
Back in 2016, the Duchess of Cambridge broke the royal tradition when she opted to stay home instead of attending the parade which was said to leave many people disappointed.
However despite it being rare for a male to perform the duty, aides said that it was William's primary role as Colonel of the regiment to take part in the ceremony and there he handed out the sprigs to 450 members of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards at Hounslow Cavalry Barracks in west London.
In the past, George VI, Earl Alexander of Tunis, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the Earl of Cavan and Prince Edward have all taken part in the ceremony.
Although soldiers on parade were reportedly disappointed that the Duchess did not make an appearance, Company Sergeant Major Carl Laverty said they were "conscious that she has family commitments" adding that the "lads were ecstatic" to have their Colonel present the honours instead.
The royal also had to present the regiment's mascot, an Irish wolfhound by the name of Domhnall, with its own spring of shamrock - though William chose to pass the duties on to the dog's handler after Kate's failed attempts to fix the shamrock to the collar the year before.
This year, Kate will take now on the responsibility of presenting the Irish wolfhound with the shamrock. After the parade, the royal couple will meet members of the regiment and have official photographs with every rank within the British Army.
This will be followed by a visit to the Junior Ranks dining hall where a toast will be made to the Duke and Duchess by senior guardsmen.
To honour the day last year, William and Kate posted a video on their social media wishing the Irish community a Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
The short video began with the Duke offering his St Patrick's Day wishes in Irish Gaelic.
He said: "Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh" which translates to "Happy St Patrick's Day" and Kate added: "We are delighted to wish you all a very happy St Patrick's Day."
Two days after the parade, the Duke and Duchess will set off on their highly-anticipated tour of the Caribbean as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, which will continue throughout the year and culminate with a four-day weekend in June.
William and Kate’s tour kicks off on March 19, with the couple set to visit Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas before it ends on next week on March 26.
