Kate Middleton is elegant as she visits Irish Guards for the first time since becoming Colonel

The Princess of Wales showcased her down-to-earth nature as she visited the Irish Guards for the first time since becoming Colonel today. 

Kate Middleton, 41, was almost unrecognisable as she dressed in camouflage kit for the engagement  at the snowy Salisbury Plain Training Area this morning.

There, the royal mother-of-three took part in a training exercise which saw her learning how to carry out battlefield casualty drills to deliver care to injured soldiers.

She could be seen crouching down in the snow as she took part in the exercise, staying warm with a khaki beanie hat.  

Today’s appearance marks the first time Kate has visited the Irish Guards in her new position as Colonel – she was promoted to her first Army role in December, taking over the position from Prince William.

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

Kate Middleton, 41, was almost unrecognisable as she dressed in camouflage kit for the engagement at the snowy Salisbury Plain Training Area this morning

The Princess swept her brunette locks into a plait for the occasion today, and kept warm by wearing a beanie hat.

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

Kate has long accompanied her husband to the St Patrick’s Day parades of the Irish Guards, handing out sprigs of shamrock – but now will be the regiment’s colonel in her own right. 

During the visit, Kate met with Guardsmen of Number One and Number Two Company, who have been recently deployed on Security Force Assistance tasks across East Africa in which they train and assist foreign forces.

Following this, The Princess joined members of Number Three Company to watch a medical training and casualty exercise.

This included a brief on Counter-Explosive Ordnance – the de-mining training which is currently being delivered by the Irish Guards to Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The visit concluded with The Princess viewing a demonstration 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 Colour, which has marked the official birthday of the British Sovereign for more than 250 years. 

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

The royal mother-of-three took part in a training exercise which saw her learning how to carry out battlefield casualty drills to deliver care to injured soldiers

The Princess has been learning how to treat battlefield casualties during a training exercise with the 1st Battalion Irish Guards on Salisbury Plain on her first visit to the regiment since becoming Colonel

Today’s appearance marks the first time Kate has visited the Irish Guards in her new position as Colonel – she was promoted to her first Army role in December, taking over the position from Prince William 

It will see the Household Division on Horse Guards Parade, with the monarch attending and taking the salute. There are seven regiments of the senior military unit, which is responsible for delivering state ceremonial and public duties.

The reigning monarch normally holds the appointment of colonel-in-chief of the regiments, but each one also has a colonel who is normally either a member of the Royal Family or a senior officer.

The Irish Guards have been a part of the British army since 1900, when they were founded by a royal decree from Queen Victoria to commemorate the Irishmen who died fighting during the Boer War.

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

The Irish Guards were also among the last units to be deployed to Afghanistan and in 2013, were drafted in 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 engagement from Kate came as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed they had hosted a religious ceremony to christen their daughter Lilibet last Friday which was carried out by the Bishop of Los Angeles, the Reverend John Taylor.

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

It has been claimed 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 spokesman for Harry and Meghan said today: ‘I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor.’

It is the first time Lili has been publicly referred to as princess. It is also understood that HRH will be ‘held in abeyance’, which describes a state of temporary disuse.

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

The title is in line with the precedent created by letters patent issued by George V in 1917 which conferred Prince or Princess on male line grandchildren of the Sovereign.

It is understood 21-month-old Lili’s title of princess and Archie’s title as a prince will be used in formal settings, 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 didn’t attend’. It is not known whether any other Royal Family members 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 had been spotted paying a visit to Harry and Meghan’s Montecito home last Friday and at a airport in Los Angeles where he boarded his private jet.