ROYALS SHOW PLUCK OF THE IRISH

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have faced down snowfall and ferocious winds to watch a traditional St Patrick’s Day parade of the Irish Guards. William, who is Colonel of the Irish Guards, and heavily pregnant Kate braved icy gusts to visit the 1st Battalion at their base in Hounslow, West London.

About 350 soldiers arrived on the Parade Square in their red regalia, led by Irish wolfhound Domhnall.

Kate, who is due to give birth to the couple’s third child next month, wore a green Catherine Walker coat and a Gina Foster hat as she presented the shamrock to officers and warrant officers.

Betraying no awareness of the biting temperature, she smiled and chatted to each of the military men in turn, finally fastening a shamrock to the collar of Domhnall.

In the US, the Chicago River was dyed a bright shade of green, kicking off the city’s St Patrick’s Day festivities.

Thousands of people lined the riverfront in downtown Chicago to see the dyeing, a tradition for the holiday that dates to 1962.

The Chicago Plumbers Union started the tradition of dyeing the river green, with a material once used to locate leaks in buildings.

Organisers say the powder used is a secret recipe and is environmentally safe.