It has been a week since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced (open in new tab) that they are stepping down from their "senior" royal family duties. A statement from the Queen (opens in new tab), a trip to Canada, a family meeting (opens in new tab), and... Fans of the royal family who have "seen a lot of brown" will have noticed that the shade is showing up more than usual in the outfits of the Queen, Kate Middleton, and Markle.

The Queen, the head of the royal family, is known for her preference for bright colors (open in new tab) that can be seen for miles around. So says her daughter-in-law, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, in the documentary "The Queen at 90" (opens in new tab).

"Don't forget that when the Queen shows up somewhere, the crowd gets two, three, four, ten, fifteen deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the Queen's hat as she passed by.

A day before the couple announced their big news to the world, Markle was photographed at their engagement ceremony at Canada House wearing an all-brown outfit that I am dying to have.

So when the Queen showed up at the church on January 12, four days after the announcement, dressed head to toe in beige, it was a statement to say the least. The Queen knew she would be photographed and her latest photo would appear in the newspaper along with the latest photo of Princess Meghan," Elizabeth Holmes, author of the forthcoming book HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style, told Harper's BAZAAR (opens in a new tab). She speculates." Having them in the same shade I took very much to be a sign of unity."

According to the principles of color psychology in 'Very Well Mind' (opens in new tab), shades of brown represent strength and confidence. It is "a color often associated with resilience, reliability, safety, and security." This theory seems to be correct, especially since Middleton was seen driving her two older children to school in two brown outfits: a khaki coat and a brown turtleneck. But maybe she was in the mood for all brown?

In the words of Holmes, "It may be a coincidence, but it may not."

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