Princess Kate pays for pints after missing St. Paddy’s parade: Report

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Just put it on the princess’s tab.

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That’s exactly what Catherine, Princess of Wales, did for some lucky soldiers in Aldershot, England, after she was unable to attend a St. Patrick’s Day parade over the weekend with the Irish Guard, according to the Daily Mail.

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The Mail reported that Kate, on the mend from abdominal surgery, put up about $3,500 so members of the Irish Guard could bend an elbow with some Guinness after the parade east of London, which according to the British army is considered the high point of the year for the regiment.

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“Happy St Patrick’s Day! Here’s a sneak peek of the @irishguards rehearsing for their annual parade. Slainte to all those celebrating today,” wrote Middleton earlier this week on Instagram and X.

The princess was named the honourary colonel of the Irish Guard last year by King Charles and there was speculation she would make the parade her first official public appearance since her surgery in January. Kate’s name was even included on a list of attendees posted on the British army website, the New York Post reported.

“Her name, however, was removed,” the Post report said, “with Kensington Palace insisting that it had not been consulted about her appearance.”

Royal watchers have, of course, been breathlessly awaiting a public appearance by Kate after her “planned” surgery, which was announced at about same time the King had treatment on an enlarged prostate.

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Speculation and conspiracy theories have swirled in the weeks since her procedure, which was only worsened when a U.K. Mother’s Day photo of the princess and her children was pulled from circulation by The Associated Press and other media outlets over concerns it had been manipulated.

Kate took the heat for the incident, saying in a social-media post that she “occasionally” experiments with photo editing.

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“I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused,” her post on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official X account said.

Princess Kate was eventually spotted on Monday with Prince William at a farm shop in Windsor, England, which a Kensington Palace insider told the Daily Beast was the “right move” despite fuelling even more conspiracy theories online.

“Ultimately she is fine and she needed that to be seen,” the insider told the Daily Beast.

“There’s nothing you can do these days about a bunch of headbangers who have a vested interest in keeping the conspiracies going.”

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