Kate Middleton dons camouflage as she visits the Irish Guards for the first time since becoming a colonel

The Princess of Wales showed her level-headed nature as she paid a visit to the Irish Guards for the first time since becoming an honorary colonel.

Kate Middleton, 41, was almost unrecognizable as she dressed in camo for the engagement the snowy Salisbury Plain Training Area this morning.

There, the royal mother-of-three took part in a training exercise in which she learned how to perform battlefield casualty exercises to provide care for wounded soldiers.

She could be seen crouching in the snow participating in the exercise, keeping warm with a khaki beanie and a thick turtleneck under her camouflage jacket.

Today’s appearance marks Kate’s first visit to the Irish Guards in her new position as an honorary colonel – she was promoted to her first role in the army in December, taking over from Prince William.

It comes when Kate’s brother-in-law Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed they’ve christened her niece ‘Princess Lilibet Diana’ in a small ceremony at their California home.

The princess has braided her dark brown locks in a braid for the occasion and kept warm by wearing a hat.

Meanwhile, she kept her makeup neutral, with a dab of dark eyeliner on her lid and a touch of nude lipstick.

She opted for her £155 Berghaus Supalite walking boots for the engagement, which she’s worn on a number of other occasions over the years.

Kate has long accompanied her husband to the St. Patrick’s Day parades of the Irish Guards, where she handed out sprigs of clover – but now she herself becomes the regiment’s honorary colonel.

During the visit Kate met Guardsmen from Number One and Number Two Company, recently deployed to Security Force Assistance duties across East Africa, training and assisting foreign troops.

Following this, The Princess joined members of Number Three Company to watch a medical training and an accident drill.

This included a briefing on Counter-Explosive Ordnance – the demining training currently provided by the Irish Guards to the Ukrainian armed forces.

The visit concluded with a demonstration by the Princess of the weapon systems used by the Irish Guards.

Buckingham Palace announced Kate’s new role in December ahead of this year’s Trooping the Color, which has celebrated the British Sovereign’s official birthday for more than 250 years.

The King’s Birthday Parade – Charles’ first – takes place on the slightly later date, 17 June. The King’s actual birthday is November 14.

It will see the Household Division on the Horse Guards Parade, with the monarch present and saluting. There are seven regiments of the higher military unit, responsible for the fulfillment of ceremonial and public duties of the state.

The reigning monarch normally holds the appointment of chief colonel of the regiments, but each also has a colonel who is normally either a member of the royal family or a senior officer.

The Irish Guards have been part of the British Army since 1900 when they were established by Royal Decree of Queen Victoria to commemorate the Irish who died during the Boer War.

Since then, the Guards, who, like all Guards regiments, boasted that the late Queen was their chief colonel, have fought in all the major conflicts of the 20th century and, more recently, led the British advance into Basra during the 2003 Iraq War. .

The Irish Guards were also among the last units to be deployed to Afghanistan and were called up in 2013 to play a mentoring role for local Afghan troops before being returned to the UK in time for the Queen’s Birthday Parade.

Today’s Kate engagement came as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed they had hosted a religious ceremony to baptize their daughter Lilibet last Friday, which was performed by the Bishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor.

The pair have been entitled to use ‘Princess’ for Lilibet since King Charles’ accession to the throne last September – and have now chosen to do so.

It is rumored that King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate were all invited to the christening but did not attend – although Buckingham Palace has not confirmed this.

A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan said today: “I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was baptized by the Archbishop of Los Angeles Reverend John Taylor on Friday, March 3.”

It is the first time Lili has been called a princess in public. It is also clear that HRH will be kept ‘suspended’, describing a state of temporary inoperability.

Buckingham Palace currently refers to Lilibet as ‘Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor’.

The title is in accordance with the precedent set by letters patent issued by George V in 1917 granting Prince or Princess male-line grandchildren of the Sovereign.

It’s clear that 21-month-old Lili’s title of princess and Archie’s title of prince will be used in formal situations, but not in everyday conversational use by the couple.

Royal journalist Omid Scobie, who is close to the Sussexes, reported that ‘King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Kate were invited but did not attend’. It is not known whether any other members of the royal family were present.

People magazine reported that there were between 20 and 30 guests at the event, including Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland and Lilibet’s godfather Tyler Perry.

The filmmaker was spotted last Friday visiting Harry and Meghan’s home in Montecito and at a Los Angeles airport where he boarded his private jet.