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Members of the royal family's decision to turn out in matching shades of burgundy to Kate Middleton's Christmas carol service last week represented a showing of "unity while under attack," in response to the release of Meghan Markle's bombshell Netflix docuseries, a number of British commentators have suggested.
Meghan said during the first part of the Harry & Meghan docuseries, which aired on December 8, that the duchess could not wear colors that matched either the queen or senior royals on public engagements. Just one week later, Kate Middleton, Pippa Middleton, Zara Tindall and Princess Charlotte all appeared in burgundy coats for the Together at Christmas service.
On Wednesday, the Daily Mail ran a front page story on the potential fashion dig in the duchess' direction, titled "Was the Great Burgundy Parade a Swipe at Meghan?"
Columnist Amanda Platell told readers of her belief that the "burgundy-fest" on display at Kate's spearheaded carol service on the same day that part two of Harry & Meghan's global release "was a carefully calculated act of solidarity by women who love and support the institution the Sussexes so despise."
Meghan's comments about the restrictions on her fashion choices while a working royal was made in episode three of the hit Netflix series, which was streamed over 81 million hours within four days of its global release.
"Most of the time that I was in the U.K., I rarely wore color," she explained in a segment about her efforts to seamlessly adapt to royal life. "There was thought in that. To my understanding, you can't ever wear the same color as Her Majesty if there's a group event. But then you also shouldn't be wearing the same color as one of the other more senior members of the family."
The duchess then went on to explain that this is why she wore mainly beige, white and neutral tones during her years on the royal stage, so she could "just blend in."
The Netflix series in general contained a number of explosive claims about Harry and Meghan's time in Britain which did not reflect flatteringly on the royals who have taken a "no comment" approach since their broadcast.
On December 15, Kate, Charlotte, Zara and Pippa's appearance in matching shades of burgundy raised eyebrows as it is unusual under normal circumstances for royal women to appear in such similar colors at a well-publicized event.
Prince William, Mike Tindall (Zara's husband) and Michael Middleton (Kate and Pippa's father) all added to the intrigue by wearing matching burgundy ties.
Whether this was a direct, visible swipe at Meghan and her comments in the docuseries in spite of the official "no comment" line, is unknown but commentators have suggested the move showed the royals standing united against the allegations.
"There was not unnaturally a huge amount of interest in the Carol Service at Westminster Abbey on the very day that the second part of the Sussexes Netflix series aired," royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Newsweek. "The profusion of burgundy got the headlines, there was actually a mix of colors but the symbolism, that of unity when under attack, was crystal clear."
Celebrity stylist and royal fashion expert Miranda Holder expanded on this, saying that matching across royal family groups is an extension of something Kate and Prince William have been doing increasingly over the last year, allaying any suggestion of the "burgundy-fest" being a simple coincidence.
"It is bad form for more junior royals to attend royal appointments wearing the same color as their more senior peers unless it has been pre-arranged. We know that the Royals leave absolutely nothing to chance when it comes to fashion so the intent will have always been to coordinate in this way," Holder told Newsweek.
"Kate, William and their family often dress in varying shades of the same hue—this year's Christmas card being a case in hand, which positions them visually as a tight family unit, as well as being more pleasing to the eye and looking great in photographs," she said. "Perhaps the firm felt they needed to reinforce this message of 'unity and togetherness' at this difficult time."
It's been a bumper year for royal fashion, with Kate's well-repeated fondness for sending messages or paying tributes through her clothing leading royal watchers to increasingly over-analyze her style choices.
With this, in conjunction with the royals' "never complain, never explain" and "no comment" position when it comes to some of the biggest issues to face the palace in a number of years (documentaries, bullying reviews, lawsuits, etc.), what the institution chooses not to say in words, observers are left to interpret through their actions.
As this develops the royals themselves fall under heavier visual scrutiny, leaving the public less willing to overlook apparent coincidences such as the burgundy coat parade.
Newsweek reached out to Kensington Palace and representatives of Meghan Markle for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more