Kate Middleton In Welsh Red For St David’s Day Parade 

Kate Middleton looked radiant in red as she accompanied Prince William to an engagement at the Combermere Barracks in Windsor on Wednesday (1st March 2023). The pair attended the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards’ traditional St. David’s Day parade—their first since receiving their Prince and Princess of Wales titles last year.

It was also Prince William’s first visit to the Welsh Guards since being appointed ceremonial Colonel of the Welsh Guards in December.

During the parade, William handed out leeks to the officers and guardsmen of the regiment, who in turn issued them along the ranks. Leeks are one of the national emblems of Wales and have been associated with the country for centuries.

Kate laughing as her ‘leek’ is pinned to her lapel:

As the parade marched past, Prince William took the Royal Salute.

The band played the Welsh National Anthem and Kate sang along in the Welsh language—she has clearly spent time preparing for her role as ‘Princess of Wales.’

Prince William gave a short speech where he expressed his admiration for the Welsh Guards and shared his own memories of serving alongside the regiment during his time in the Armed Forces. He said he was honoured and delighted to take over the role of Colonel from his father.

Following the parade, the Prince and Princess met with families.

Here’s Kate watching a young boy demonstrate a backflip:

She was “super impressed” apparently:

The couple also met with a group of Australian troops who are currently in the UK helping to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

William and Kate have attended several engagements to celebrate Wales and mark St. David’s Day.

On Saturday, the pair visited Cardiff to watch Wales play England in the Six Nations rugby. On Tuesday, they held a ‘Community Impact Day’ in south Wales where they announced a plan to build ‘therapy allotments’ across the region with their foundation.

St David’s Day is the national day of Wales, which is celebrated on March 1st each year.

The engagement with the Welsh Guards reminded me of the numerous Irish Guard parades that William and Kate have attended over the last decade or so. The Prince and Princess usually mark St Patrick’s Day with a visit to Mons Barracks in Hampshire. Kate hands shamrocks to the officers (and their four-legged mascot!)

Let’s look at Kate’s outfit with the Welsh Guards now.

Kate’s St David’s Day Outfit:

The Princess chose a coat in a vibrant red hue—a colour associated with Wales. It was a fitting tribute to the country on its national day.

It’s a new coat (new to us, anyway. We’ve not seen her wear it in public before). It features a peak lapel, breast pocket, two flap pockets at the hip and a double-breasted button closure.

It looks very similar to the three double-breasted coats pictured below, which Kate has worn a handful of times recently:

They’re all by Alexander McQueen.

I thought the Princess was wearing the red coat pictured above when I first saw her at the parade. But on closer inspection I can see that they’re completely different garments.

It looks like the red coat at the Welsh Guards parade is another bespoke design from Alexander McQueen. See how similar it is to the Draped Wool Coat pictured below (shown at MyTheresa). 

Kate’s coat doesn’t have the asymmetric drape detail at the hem, but the rest of it—the collar, the pockets, the button fastenings, the colour—appear the same.

The Draped Wool Coat is made in Italy and constructed from 100% wool.  Alexander McQueen calls this hue “Lust Red.” RRP at MyTheresa £2,990. It’s also available at FarFetch.com and Cettire.  Cettire has the coat listed for a few hundred pounds cheaper, actually. 

I’m not sure what Kate wore underneath the coat. I can’t work out what is going on—it could be a two tone red and black dress. Or, she could be wearing a red dress to match the coat with a gigantic black shawl over. The black you can see peeping out from the skirt of her coat could be from the shawl. That would be one long shawl though, wouldn’t it? TBC when I’ve had chance to look for more pictures.

The Princess’s accessories are familiar. We saw her carry the bag and wear the boots just yesterday.

We’re pretty sure the black block heel boots are by Gianvito Rossi.

Kate owns the same pair in brown and blue.  When she first started wearing the brown pair, a fellow blogger emailed the company and a rep confirmed they are a bespoke, custom commission for the Princess. It’s likely the black boots are too. All three pairs are identical, bar the colour.

The ‘Glen’ style appear to the closest design in Gianvito’s ready-to-wear line available for general sale. The Glen boots feature the same suede covered block heel, curved panel on the front of the boot and beige leather sole.   The main difference: Kate’s boots have a sharply pointed toe. The Glen boots are more rounded on the ends.

If you’re in the market for a pair of black boots, you can buy the black suede Glen boots at FarFetch.com for £769 (currently 40% off). FarFetch do offer plenty of other currencies and ship across the world too. Also available at MyTheresa in Blue and Bisque.

Gianvito Rossi is an Italian luxury shoe designer known for his elegant and sophisticated footwear designs. Gianvito learned the craft from his father, Sergio Rossi, who was also a renowned shoe designer.

Gianvito is known for designing with clean lines and sleek silhouettes.

Kate’s clearly a fan. To date, we’ve spotted her wearing 19 different items of footwear by the designer.

Let’s look at Kate’s boxy black bag now. It’s from Mulberry. She carries the Amberley Crossbody in Black Croc.

Mulberry’s iconic rider’s lock closure features on the front of this black croc print bag. It’s lined with suede and was sold with a crossbody strap, which Kate does not use. It retailed for £695.

The Princess has now carried this bag five times in public to date.

The bag is from an older season no longer available to buy. If you’re in the market for a small black bag, try the brand’s Amberley satchel instead:

Or, try the the Aspinal of London Midi Mayfair bag. Kate carries it frequently, it’s quite similar to the Amberley in terms of size, shape and look, it’s around the same price point and is still available to buy

My regular readers will know that Mulberry is one of Kate’s favourite handbag brands. The Princess has been photographed carrying at least eleven of the company’s designs over the last decade or so.

Mulberry is a well-known British luxury fashion brand that’s known for its iconic handbags. The brand also offers a wide range of clothing, shoes, accessories and other leather goods for both men and women, all crafted with high-quality materials and exquisite attention to detail.

The brand was founded in 1971 by Roger Saul and is headquartered in London. Today, Mulberry has stores all across the world and is a leading brand in the luxury fashion industry.

Kate brought back her Daisy Heritage earrings from Asprey London for the barracks visit.

The earrings are crafted from 18ct white gold and are adorned with micro marquise diamonds that make up the petals of the daisy, while the centre is set with a half ball of pavé diamonds, replicating the texture of the middle of the flower. They’re super sparkly.

The earrings are priced at £23,000 and can be ordered by calling the Asprey London store or booking an appointment in-store.

Kate’s worn them just once before, during a visit to the Republic of Ireland in 2020.

Asprey London is a luxury British brand that specialises in fine jewellery, watches, leather goods, and accessories—it is one of the most prestigious names in the luxury goods industry.

The brand has a long and established relationship with British royalty dating back to the 1800s when Queen Victoria awarded them their first Royal Warrant. Since, Asprey have held a Royal Warrant for every British monarch and several other foreign heads of state.

Kate’s look was completed by the Juliette Botterill Millinery Bow and Arrow Hat, a stunning piece made from Peachbloom felt. (spotted by UFONOMORE).

The expertly designed hat features a stylish bow and two arrow feathers. It is priced at £570 and can be ordered online. At the time of writing, you can order the hat in teal/navy or bottle green. Note that all the hats are made-to-order and are non-returnable. The creation process takes four weeks, so please allow ample time for completion before delivery.

You probably spotted the Princess’s unique black leather gloves? They feature a sort intricate embroidered-cutout design.

They’re by Evica Milovanov-Penezic, a Serbian glove designer known for her fringes, cutouts and use of vibrant colours. 

Kate wore them to Prince William’s passing-out parade at Sandhurst in 2006 (wearing a similar outfit of red coat and all black accessories, coincidentally).

Back in the 2000s, the designer told reporters Kate bought her gloves from a small London boutique. Apparently, the Princess returned the next day and bought up to ten more pairs!

Porsche’s ‘Women With Drive’ magazine profiled Evica back in 2012.  They noted that the designer got her “big breakthrough” in 2006 when the then Miss Middleton wore the gloves at Sandhurst.  “They’ve certainly brought  work to many women in Serbia where the craft of glove-making was almost lost until Evica launched her label a decade ago. It’s now a thriving cottage industry”.

Finally, the Princess finished her outfit with a sparkling “leek” brooch.

As I mentioned above, the leek is a national emblem of Wales and has strong historical ties to the country. It is not uncommon for members of the British royal family to incorporate symbolic elements into their outfits during official engagements—the leek brooch is a lovely way for Kate to honour Wales and the Welsh Guards during her visit to the barracks.

Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana and Queen Camilla have all worn worn leek brooches on royal engagements in the past—you’d be forgiven for thinking all four women have worn the same brooch, perhaps loaned from the royal jewel vault, but this appears to not be the case.

According to Tiara Mania, there are at least three different iterations of the brooch, all with slight variations in design.

The first one was QEII's in the 60s but it's not the same as the one worn by Kate. There are at least three different brooches. The closest to Kate's is the one one by Diana b/c of the twist of the leaves on the left but it could also be new just for her. L-R: Liz, Cam, Di, Kate pic.twitter.com/TFXarNZphb

— Tiara Mania (@TiaraManiaBlog) March 1, 2023

I would suspect the regiment commissioned and gifted the brooch to Kate upon Prince William’s appointment?

I’m sorry that I cannot tell you more about the jewel.

I think that’s everything!