A Diamond Leek for the Princess of Wales on St. David’s Day

The Prince and Princess of Wales headed to Combermere Barracks in Windsor on Wednesday for a visit with the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. William is now the Colonel of the Welsh Guards, a role he took over during a royal shuffle last December. (He succeeded his father, King Charles, in the role, while Kate took over his previous job as Colonel of the Irish Guards.) William delivered remarks during the visit on Wednesday, which also included a leek-giving ceremony and a St. David’s Day parade.

Princess Catherine wore bright Welsh red for the visit. She sat with other attendees while her husband spoke, recalling his time training with the Welsh Guards several years ago.

Kate received a bouquet from a lovely little girl during the visit.

She also had a leek pinned to the lapel of her coat. The leek is the most important national symbol of Wales.

Here’s a look at the leek pinned to Kate’s coat during the ceremony. You’ll notice lots of leeks pinned to the uniforms of the soldiers as well.

The royal couple posed for an official photo with the 1st Battalion during the visit.

Inside the barracks, the couple met with soldiers and personnel. Here, Kate speaks with troops from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, which is allied with the Welsh Guards.

For the day’s events, Kate chose a bright red coat from Alexander McQueen and black accessories, including a hat from Juliette Botterill Millinery.

She also added a sparkling touch with diamond jewels. Her earrings are the Daisy Heritage style from Asprey.

The earrings have been in her jewelry box for some time. She debuted them almost exactly three years ago, in March 2020, during an official visit to Ireland.

On her lapel, Kate wore the diamond-studded cap badge of the Welsh Guards, which is in the shape of a stylized leek.

Here’s a closer look at the details of the badge worn by Kate on Wednesday.

It’s something of a royal tradition for ladies to wear diamond-studded leek badges at events related to the Welsh Guards and to Wales in general. The late Queen Elizabeth II received one from the Welsh Guards in the 1960s. Here, she wears it for the presentation of new colours to the 1st Battalion at Windsor Castle in April 2015.

One of her final appearances in the brooch came in June 2020, when she wore it for a scaled-back Trooping the Colour parade at Windsor Castle. (The Welsh Guards were the ones trooping that day.)

There are also other diamond leek badges in other royal jewelry boxes. Queen Camilla has her own, which is slightly smaller than the late Queen’s badge and features gold detailing.

Diana, Princess of Wales, wore a small diamond leek badge on various occasions, too. Here, she wears hers on a blue coat for a visit to Cardiff on St. David’s Day in 1991. The occasion was Prince William’s very first official public engagement.

Here’s another look at Kate’s Welsh leek badge from Wednesday’s parade. I don’t know for certain whether this is a fourth leek badge, or whether Kate is recycling a previously-worn one. If it is a hand-me-down, I’d wager that this might be the same one worn by the late Queen Elizabeth II, but I’d need more evidence (a clearer photo of the Queen’s badge, or confirmation from the palace) to be certain. What do you think?