The Princess of Wales made a triumphant return to Trooping the Colour this year, dressed with nods to the Irish Guards.

This year, Catherine sat alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla on the Dais at Horse Guards Parade, taking a more prominent role and sitting to the left of her father-in-law. She’s previously sat on the Dais in 2023, though King Charles watched from horseback that year.

The royal received critical acclaim for her Catherine Walker coat dress and hat by Juliette Botterill, but her choice of colour served as a special reminder of her connection to the Irish Guards: St. Patrick’s Blue.

The shade, an azure blue, has ties to the Order of St. Patrick, a now-dormant chivalric order that represented the highest order in Ireland. There have been no appointments made to the Order since 1936, and the last knight, the late Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, passed in 1974.

The Irish Guards wear a hackle of St. Patrick’s Blue on their bearskins.

The Irish Guards shared photos of Trooping the Colour on their Instagram account, and shared a photo of Catherine in their Stories, captioning it simply: “St. Patrick’s Blue!”

In addition to her colour choice, Catherine also wore her regimental brooch for Saturday’s big event.

The Regimental Brooch of the Irish Guards features an eight-point star in the shape of that belonging to the Order of St. Patrick—the patron saint of Ireland—with a shamrock in the centre overlaid on a cross of St. Patrick.

The motto that wraps around the shamrock and cross reads ‘Quis separtabit’, which means ‘Who will separate us?’ It serves as the motto of the Order of St. Patrick and also holds special meaning to the Irish regiments of the British Army.

Catherine inherited the role of Regimental Colonel of the Irish Guards from her husband in December 2022. Previously, William held the post from 2011 until his appointment as Colonel of the Welsh Guards, in line with his new position as Prince of Wales.

Last year, in the midst of preventative chemotherapy treatments, Catherine watched the procession from inside the Horse Guards Parade with her children.

The Irish Guards trooped their colour last year, for the first time in the presence of their Royal Colonel, who’d been appointed in 2022.