When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dropped their holiday card last week, it featured the sweetest family pic. And while our eyes went straight to Princess Lilibet’s sparkly ballet flats, eagle-eyed royal fans couldn’t help but call out a Princess Diana-coded detail: The way Meghan’s sleeveless midi dress catches the light.
Meghan Markle’s Sheer Holiday Dress Catches the Light Just Like Princess Diana’s
Intentional or not, it’s a lovely nod
Published Dec 22, 2025
•6:42pm
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A quick glimpse at the Sussexes’ 2025 card—shared on Instagram—and you’ll spot it: Meghan’s cream-colored Toteme style (similar here) almost has an ethereal vibe as she leans down to chat with Lili, the California sunshine making her skirt a tiny bit transparent (but still totally tasteful).
Intentional or not, it’s hard not to draw an immediate line back to Princess Diana and a pic inadvertently snapped when she was dating a then-Prince Charles in 1980 and media attention on their budding royal relationship was sky-high. As part of an arrangement with the U.K. press, Diana agreed to be photographed at her place of work—a nursery school—as a way to stave off overly intrusive attention. Dressed in a purple sweater vest and patterned midi skirt, she posed, unaware of the way the sun, which was behind her, illuminated her legs. The picture was splashed all across front pages the following day. (Diana was said to be appalled, according to Marie Claire.)
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Still, Meghan’s sartorial choice speaks more to a modern-day—and California-approved—aesthetic of wearing neutrals. As for the way the sun’s rays created a bit of a silhouette? That feels more like an artistic choice than an attempt to pay homage to her late mother-in-law.
But the parallel is there—and, in the case of the Sussexes, continues to make us think of Harry’s royal lineage and all that came before.
