Luck of the Irish: Kate shrugs off shamrock slip at St. Patrick’s celebrations

The shamrock is a symbol of luck to the Irish, but the Duchess of Cambridge had a spot of bother when she struggled to pin the sprig to an army mascot dog today. Kate, 33, presented the bunches of clovers to soldiers from the Irish Guards to mark St Patrick’s Day today. But as she bent down to pin the sprig on the silver collar of the regiment’s beloved mascot, Irish wolfhound Domhnall, it kept falling off.

It wouldn’t go on his collar, we had a bit of trouble with the shamrock.

Dog handler Drummer Dean Kirk

Quartermaster Major Paul Fagin had to step in to give the royal a hand at the ceremony in Mons Barracks, Aldershot, Hampshire. Kate later joked about the mishap with three children who presented her with a posy of white flowers. She told eight year-old Ciara Flynn and her twin sisters Leah and Eva, both six, that it was tricky. The couple spent around an hour at the parade and chatting happily to soldiers and their families afterwards.

World St. Patrick's Day