Prince William's tribute to wife, Princess Kate, at a military event in England in 2023 has resurfaced as the royal recently made her second public appearance of the year following her cancer diagnosis.
Kate stepped out of the public eye in January amid health issues, which she revealed in March had been linked to a cancer diagnosis; it required she undergo a course of preventive chemotherapy treatment.
The princess wiped clean her working diary as she recuperated from abdominal surgery and received her treatment. Kate missed several key events, a number of which were linked to her relatively new role as a royal colonel of British Army regiment, the Irish Guards.
Kate's role was given to her specially by King Charles III after his accession and his daughter-in-law's elevation to the title of Princess of Wales, denoting her status as second most-senior woman in the royal family behind Queen Camilla.
Kate has a long association with the Irish Guards. In 2011, prior to his marriage to Kate, Prince William was appointed colonel of the regiment by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. In her capacity as the colonel's wife, Kate attended many high-profile events connected with the regiment, including the annual St. Patrick's Day parade at which she handed out traditional shamrock sprigs to the soldiers taking part.
As the new Prince of Wales, in 2022 William took over his father's old colonelcy of the Welsh Guards. This left a vacancy for the Irish Guards, which King Charles entrusted Kate to fill.
On March 17, 2023, an unofficial handover took place at the St. Patrick's Day parade in the town of Aldershot, England. William gave a speech honoring the regiment and reflecting warmly on his time spent as colonel, before paying a touching tribute to his wife who gave her own speech shortly afterward.
Uploaded to TikTok by user @helensmccrory on July 17, footage from William's handover speech has gone viral, with his comment about Kate gaining over 502,000 views in 48 hours.
"I may be stepping aside, but in Colonel Catherine, you have a committed, focused and already incredibly loyal 11th Colonel," William said in his speech, an extract of which featured in the viral clip. "As you serve together over the years ahead, know that I will continue to watch you, with huge pride in having been one of you."
In return, Kate paid her own tribute to her husband and the regiment at large, though social-media users noted a touch of nerves in her delivery.
"I look forward to spending more time with you and your families, seeing your commitment to duty and service in all you do. Before I close, however, I want to thank Colonel William. He has always talked about his fierce pride for this regiment," Kate said, going on to add:
"I know he will continue to support us all in the work we do," the princess added. "Finally, I would like to wish you all a very happy St. Patrick's Day."
The viral video also included footage from several of William and Kate's joint engagements in recent years. The post has received over 40,000 likes and numerous comments from fans, many of which have praised the couple and their dynamic.
"Such a beautiful couple," wrote one TikTok user, with another adding: "They have every respect for each other. They fit perfectly."
Owing to her health challenges so far this year, Kate missed the Irish Guards' St. Patrick's Day parade in March and was also unable to attend the Colonel's Review of Trooping the Colour. This is a formal dress rehearsal of the guards on parade for the full Trooping the Colour celebrations the following week in June.
The princess wrote a letter to the guards on this occasion, reaffirming her dedication to the regiment as their colonel.
"Being your colonel remains an honor and I am very sorry that I'm unable to make the salute at this year's Colonel's Review," Kate said.
"Please pass on my apologies to the whole regiment. I do hope that I'm able to represent you all once again very soon. Please send my very best wishes and good luck to all involved."
To the delight of fans, Kate did make it to the Trooping the Colour celebrations a week later to watch the guards mark Charles' official birthday in London.
The princess made her first appearance since her cancer announcement for the large-scale event, appearing in a brilliant white dress accessorized with a brooch in the shape of the Irish Guards badge.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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