Princess Kate: ‘I love to travel… I love the Middle East because that’s familiar to me’

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The Princess of Wales was in surprisingly good form on St. Patrick’s Day, where she attended the annual Irish Guards parade, passed out shamrocks and sipped a pint with the men. She looked freshly “rejuvenated” and she was smiling and looking happy in almost all of the photos. Apparently, she spoke at length to the men, chatting about her plans to travel more with the kids, and what she thinks of William’s struggle-beard.

The Princess of Wales says she wants to take her children to Australia and New Zealand now they are a bit older. Kate was chatting to Irish Guardsmen and their families in the Sergeants’ Mess at Wellington Barracks after putting money behind the bar for them to celebrate St Patrick’s Day during the annual parade.

She told Corporal Adam Hamilton, an Australian reservist: “George finds it fascinating that he has been to Australia and New Zealand. I would like to go back there with them now. It’s finding time to do that. But I love to travel – yes, it’s a long flight. But I love the Middle East because that’s familiar to me [from] growing up. There are so many opportunities now to travel, I think it’s brilliant to experience it. We tend to go further afield when it’s official visits, it’s being able to carve out time to experience these countries in a more private capacity. Because otherwise you end up seeing lots of insides of amazing buildings but you don’t get to meet that many people. It’s making sure that you can combine a bit of work with the children. I might see you down there!”

The Princess, who wore a bottle green coat by Alexander McQueen and a matching hat with a gold shamrock Cartier brooch of the Irish Guards, was also asked where she and her family lived.

“We are in Windsor at the moment,” she replied. “We were in London but moved there for more green space. It’s close enough to London, not too far away.”

The Princess also chatted to section commanders in the bar about her husband’s beard. “These trends come and go,” she said. “I was saying to my husband, I’m not sure how long he’s going to keep his for.”

[From Hello]

The idea that William is following a “beard trend” is so funny – he’s not actually on trend, and his beard is clearly part of his years-long attempts to copy his brother. The stuff about traveling is interesting, because the courtiers have been pretty insistent that Kate refuses to travel for work now, and has refused to travel for work for the better part of two years. She hasn’t been on any kind of “foreign tour” since 2022 (although she was in Jordan in 2023 for a wedding). That being said, Kate has made it clear that she’s fine with traveling for vacation. People always forget that Kate spent several years of her childhood in Jordan – arguably one of the most interesting pieces of biographical information about Kate, and it’s constantly buried because they don’t want her to sound too “exotic” or foreign.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, attends The Irish Guards’ St. Patrick’s Day Parade at Wellington Barracks, London, England, UK on Monday 17 March, 2025.,Image: 976614399, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph/Avalon

Catherine, Princess of Wales, attends The Irish Guards’ St. Patrick’s Day Parade at Wellington Barracks, London, England, UK on Monday 17 March, 2025.,Image: 976614420, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph/Avalon

Catherine, Princess of Wales, attends The Irish Guards’ St. Patrick’s Day Parade at Wellington Barracks, London, England, UK on Monday 17 March, 2025.,Image: 976614480, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph/Avalon

The Princess of Wales, Colonel, Irish Guards, visiting the regiment at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Wellington Barracks. PIC: HRH The Princess of Wales joins Guardsmen and families in the Junior Ranks dining Hall.,Image: 976628565, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland/Avalon

The Princess of Wales, Colonel, Irish Guards, visiting the regiment at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Wellington Barracks.PIC: HRH The Princess of Wales joins Guardsmen and families in the Junior Ranks dining Hall.,Image: 976628569, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland/Avalon

The Princess of Wales, Colonel, Irish Guards, visiting the regiment at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Wellington Barracks. PIC: HRH The Princess of Wales meets ‘Mini Micks’ junior cadets from Northern Ireland.,Image: 976628601, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland/Avalon

The Princess of Wales, Colonel, Irish Guards, visiting the regiment at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Wellington Barracks. PIC: HRH The Princess of Wales with Major General Sir Chris Ghika Regimental Lieutenant Colonel.,Image: 976628635, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland/Avalon

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