Members of the royal family wore coordinating outfits to an event after Meghan Markle said it's against protocol

• Members of the royal family attended a Christmas concert on Thursday.
• Many of the royals were dressed in the same color.

The royal family may have sent a message with their clothing at a holiday event.

On Thursday, members of the royal family gathered for the "Together at Christmas" carol service at Westminster Abbey.

Senior royals like King Charles; Camilla, Queen Consort; Prince William; and Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, attended, as did members of the extended family, like Princess Eugenie and Pippa Middleton.

Many of the royals and their family members arrived in coordinating ensembles — contradicting statements Meghan Markle made about royal etiquette in Netflix's "Harry & Meghan."

At the event, Kate, Princess Charlotte, Zara Philips, and Pippa Middleton all arrived in maroon. Kate wore an Emilia Wickstead coatdress, while the other three wore maroon coats.

Pippa Middleton and Tindall paired their looks with black accessories.

Camilla and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, wore coordinating ensembles as well. The Queen Consort arrived in a long, white jacket, which looked similar to Sophie's off-white coat.

The coordinating ensembles were notable, not only because the royals all wore different colors at the 2021 event, but also because they wore the similar looks after Meghan stated in Netflix's "Harry & Meghan" that it was against royal protocol to wear the same color as more senior members of the monarchy.

As Insider previously reported, in episode three of the Netflix series, Meghan said she intentionally wore neutral tones when she was living in the UK to avoid wearing the same color as other royals.

"To my understanding, you can't ever wear the same color as Her Majesty, if there's a group event," she said. "But then you also should never be wearing the same color as one of the other more senior members of the family."

She also said she didn't want to stand out with any of her outfits.

"It was also so I could just blend in," she said. "I'm not trying to stand out here. There's no version of me joining this family and trying to not do everything I could to fit in."

Meghan's statements weren't totally surprising, as it's previously been reported that Queen Elizabeth intentionally wore bright colors to stand out.

In addition, Laura Bush's chief of staff, Anita McBride, told Insider that the Queen's dressmaker ensured her ensembles wouldn't clash with first ladies' looks during diplomatic visits.

There have been occasions members of the royal family wore the same color, such as Trooping the Colour in 2018 when Kate and the Queen both wore shades of blue.

But the number of royals wearing the same color at the Christmas event was noticeable, particularly given it was the first event the whole family attended since the Netflix show premiered.

The carol service would not be the first occasion where the royals have sent messages with their style. At Queen Elizabeth's funeral, both Meghan and Kate wore dresses that nodded to their relationships with the late monarch.

Representatives for Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, and the Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.