William's Shamrock Solo

He's their Colonel and wore their uniform at his wedding in 2011 so it's no surprise that the Duke of Cambridge was with the 1st Batallion Irish Guards this morning to present them with shamrocks on St Patrick's Day. But there has been a lot of surprise that Prince William went solo on this one for the past four years have seen him accompanied at this traditional event by his wife. However, Kate wasn't there this year and while the ceremonial and presentation unfolded much as always do, the focus was elsewhere. William did the honours but Kate got the headlines as some people asked whether the Duchess of Cambridge should really have been there.

The Duke of Cambridge presents shamrocks to the 1st Batallion the Irish Guards on St Patrick's Day 2016

(photo Kensington Royal Instagram)

There was no official reason given for the absence of the Duchess of Cambridge although there's been speculation that she wants to be at home as much as possible with her two children, George and Charlotte, ahead of a week away from them as she tours India and Bhutan in April. However, the fact she has missed the ceremony after attending for the past four years has led to criticisms especially as it comes hot on the heels of other claims that she and William aren't taking on enough public engagements.

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But the Duke of Cambridge carried on as normal, presenting shamrocks to the soldiers and to their mascot, an Irish wolfhound called Domhnall. There were 450 serving troops and 150 association members and Army Cadets present at the ceremony which took place at the Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow.

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There is some debate about how crucial the appearance of the Duchess of Cambridge really is for this ceremony. For the last 115 years it has been a tradition carried out, mostly, by a senior royal woman - first to do the honours was Queen Alexandra in 1901 and for many years it was an event associated with the Queen Mother. The Princess Royal took on the role following the death of grandmother in 2002 and in 2012 the baton passed to Kate.

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There is no rule that the Duchess of Cambridge must present the shamrocks but the website of the Prince of Wales does state that the tradition is always carried out by a senior female member of the Royal Family. And it had been presumed that this job would now always fall to Kate who first took part in 2012 and who appeared at the presentation last year when in the last stages of her pregnancy with Charlotte.

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With no official reason for her missing the ceremony, speculation has run rife as has criticism of the Duchess of Cambridge who has had a less than successful month on the PR front. But for William it was business as usual even if that did mean that this year he was giving out shamrocks solo.

What do you think - should Kate have attended the St Patrick's Day ceremony this year?