The Duchess of Sussex seemed to be sending a message to the royal family when she stepped out in a daring red gown that featured a plunging neckline and thigh-high split

Meghan Markle certainly turned heads when she stepped out at the Salute to Freedom Gala in 2021. It was one of her first glitzy events since quitting the royal family, and she opted for a bold eye-catching red gown that featured a plunging neckline and thigh-high split.

Onlookers couldn’t help but notice it was a very different look for Meghan, far removed from her royal outfits. And it was suggested she was sending a message to her in-laws with her statement dress. Indeed, following her appearance at the gala, Meghan revealed she had always avoided bright colours during her short stint in the royal family because she wanted to “blend in”.

Speaking on Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series in December 2022, the Duchess said that her usual royal colour palette of ‘camel, beige, white’ had been a deliberate choice. “There was thought in that. To my understanding, you can’t ever wear the same colour as Her Majesty if there’s a group event,” she said. “But then you also should never be wearing the same colour as one of the other more senior members of the family.

“So I was like…well, what’s a colour they’ll probably never wear? Camel? Beige? White? So I wore a lot of muted tones but it was also so I could just blend in. I’m not trying to stand out here. There’s no version of me joining this family and trying not to do everything I could to fit in’”

She later added: “Until that last week in the UK, I rarely wore colour and I never wanted to upstage or ruffle any feathers, so I just tried to blend in. But I wore a lot of colour that week. I felt, ‘Well, let’s just look like a rainbow.’” However, members of the royal family appeared to turn that theory on its head when they attended Princess Kate’s Christmas service a short time later.

It was speculated that they were sending a subtle message with their matching sartorial choices with Kate leading the way in a festive deep burgundy coat with a matching clutch bag and shoes. William and Harry’s cousin Zara Tindall pointedly wore a coat in the very same shade, as did Kate’s daughter Princess Charlotte . The Princess’s sister, Pippa Matthews , also joined in on the theme, sporting a coat in the same deep red.

When it came to the men, Prince William opted for a burgundy tie, as did Zara’s husband Mike Tindall. The late Queen, meanwhile, famously always wore bright colours to ensure people could always spot her. Speaking in ITV’s The Queen at 90, Sophie Wessex confirmed Her Majesty’s logic, saying: “She needs to stand out for people to be able to say, ‘I saw the queen’. Don’t forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, 10, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the Queen’s hat as she went past.”