Chris Jackson-WPA Pool/Getty Images'Tis the luck of the Irish!
Leaving her pot of gold at home (but stepping out in one very chic Emilia Wickstead racing coat for the occasion) Kate Middleton spread a little joy—and luck—to dozens of Irish Guards Saturday as she passed out shamrocks to members of the 1st Battalion in honor of St. Patrick's Day.
And never one to shrink away from style, the Duchess of Cambridge made sure to top her holiday-appropriate green coat with a gold shamrock brooch formerly belonging to the late Queen Mother to mark her first solo military engagement.
But the Guards weren't the only ones treated to the traditional shamrocks.
After the military band began playing "God Save the Queen," the fashionable royal also passed along a sprig to the Guards' mascot, an Irish Wolfhound named Conmea, according to the Daily Mirror.
Following the passing of the shamrocks, 450 soldiers in full ceremonial uniform participated in the annual St. Patrick's Day parade, and Kate sipped Irish sherry in a mess hall with guardsmen and lance corporals before the celebration came to a close.
The tradition of presenting shamrocks to the Irish Guards dates back to 1901 and, though Kate took on the duties this year, was previously carried out by the Queen Mother.