We have a little Friday surprise to share, news about an engagement last night for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The couple joined the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for the Royal Foundation’s annual autumn dinner. 
More about the Foundation from its website:
The Royal Foundation is the primary philanthropic and charitable vehicle for The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Our programmes currently revolve around four main themes of work; mental health, wildlife and conservation, young people and the armed forces community.
We knew the event was taking place. Below, a tweet by Cepe Smith who lists all of the official royal engagements shown in the Court Circular.
The event was at Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square. The venue offers a number of options for entertaining, including its ballroom. 
The art deco ballroom is a popular spot for private parties. 
We did not expect to see any photos from the dinner; historically, none have been released. We are fortunate because Scottish singer-songwriter Tom Walker performed last night and he released photos today via his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
@IAmTomWalker Twitter (click image to visit feed)
Below, Meghan and Harry with Mr. Walker and Anita Rani, radio and TV presenter with the BBC. 
Ms. Rani emceed the vent last night and posted about it on her Instagram page.
Below, William, Tom Walker, Anita Rani and Kate at the dinner.
Now for what Meghan wore. We start with her dress by Roland Mouret. The designer and Meghan have long been friends and she wears his designs with some frequency. With thanks to Samantha Salazar for a terrific ID, it looks like last night’s frock is the Aldrich style, customized with a longer, or full length skirt. 
From the Resort ’17 collection, the piece is described as being made with a navy “weightless linen-blend cloqué (a textured material, often with a kind of puckered appearance) on the bodice, which is boned for a “close and secure fit.” The dress was most recently available at Net-a-Porter ($2082).
Laura pointed out that actress Sofia Vergara wore the same dress for the Los Angeles premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Embed from Getty Images
Meghan wore her Birk’s Snowflake earrings. 
It looked like Meghan carried her navy UFO clutch, with thanks to Laura for that suggestion. We show the item when carried by the Duchess at another event.
Happy weekend to all!
Our thanks to Tom Walker for sharing the pictures! We’ll leave you with this clip of his performance with singer Robyn Hughes last night.
I agree that yes londoners wear black and parisians wear black and big city people wear black and New York City people wear black. but Megan is now a member of the Royal Family. the royal family only wears black when in morning or at remembrance occasions.
Untrue. The royals have not confined black to funerals and memorial services for many years now. The late Princess of Wales wore it frequently, and the Duchess of Cambridge, now Princess of Wales, has ddne so as well.
These so-called royal “rules” that less-informed people cite can always be shown not to exist.
What a beautiful dress! What I like about this dress is it’s not just another black dress, the strapless and the detailing on the dress make it more interesting than just a plain black dress (which we know Meghan is fond of).
This is a stunning dress, I love the detailing on the bodice and the embellished translucent skirt. It achieves a certain level of baroque in a contemporary context. The only thing that spoils it for me is that Meghan returns once again to a severely limited colour palette. It’s become so predictable now that I find I no longer look forward to seeing what she wears and am at a loss to see how it serves her.
Being a royal means you are in the spotlight, no getting away from it, plus there’s a need to put on a little bit of a show simply to keep ratings up. The causes she wishes to embrace are not helped by her seeming to want to play down her wardrobe choices and risk quashing public interest in her.
She’s barely a few months into her royal career and no doubt there’s plenty of scope for change, but at the moment it looks to me as if it might be a long time coming. Maybe becoming a mum will lead her into a world of brighter tones – I do hope so. I wouldn’t like to see a mistaken desire to look serious overtake the necessarily ostentatious side of royal life.
Glorious dress! And she looks gorgeous and comfortable in this headturning strapless dress!
I’m not sure about this one. The fabric over the bust is SUCH an odd fit. It appears that Meghan “sized up” for her waistline but as a result of the angles of her body, the stiff bust fabric sticks directly up into the air, rather than laying neatly against the chest as shown on the model images. I’m very curious what the “top down” view is — seems to risk a highly inappropriate appearance!
Wow, this dress is gorgeous and I hope that we get to see it in all it’s glory someday!! I’m glad that Meghan is wearing more of the fit and flare silhouette, it’s one of my favorites and I think she wears it so well. I must say that pregnancy suits Meghan, she is just glowing every time we see her.
Roland Mouret has designed a fun and creative strapless party dress with perhaps some of his signature folds that make way for a frothy and sheer skirt. Very imaginative. Meghan went “up” for the evening with what looks like her signature bun and tendrils and her Birks Snowflake diamond earrings add a lovely focal point.
The space within the Victoria House where Tom Walker and Robyn Hughes performed seems like an intimate, urban, and ultra cool setting. thatsingingbird’s Instagram clip sounds great, good acoustics in that space, too. Thanks for including the clip, it gives a real feel for the evening.
So impressed with all of the worthy projects within the Royal Foundation, many of which WMW and WKW cover over the course of the year. We have a chance to chat about fashion while learning about what’s important to those wearing the fashion.
Just love this dress, great textured fabric, elegant length and strapless style which looks a million dollars. Ah no sleeves or straps…the style police will have a field day. In my opinion, meg looks sensational everytime we see her.
I love this dress! The Duchess looked great. I don’t have a problem with the color, black/blue. It was perfect for the occasion. I wished we had a better view of her. I have to say, I love her pregnancy style thus far. She is certainly throwing out all the rules I thought existed for maternity wear.
I agree Jackie, so far we haven’t seen Meghan wear any ruffles, bows or the dreaded Peter Pan collars and for that I’m eternally grateful! I just don’t understand why designers insist on dressing pregnant women like toddlers. We might have lost our waistlines but we haven’t lost our minds or our fashion sense. I hope as Meghan’s pregnancy progresses we continue to see her wear items that she would normally select only with room for baby.
This is brilliant. I love what you said about the mind not being lost just because the waistline temporarily is! 🙂
Meghan is looking gorgeous, as always!! Too bad we can’t get anymore pics of her in this dress. What a feat to look so good while pregnant. How does she do it??!!
I just wanted to say that being from Southern California myself, and now living in the New York city area, wearing all black all the time (or dark colors) is the norm and is considered chic if you are from the big cities. I also have no doubt that Meghan’s personal style in her choices of a neutral palette and simple, clean lines is going to be what she prefers, no matter what other people are doing. I appreciate her sticking to her true self in this regard actually, and it’s one of the reasons I look up to her. So I understand that sometimes we are “bored” because of the lack of colors but I get the same comments about my closet (which is literally 2/3 all black) and why I always look like I’m going to a funeral (which, btw, we are in 2018 and black is appropriate for every occasion, not just a funeral), and it doesn’t bother me because I love wearing all black, all year long. Not everyone is a fan of a rainbow closet, even if they look good in bright colors. Meghan looks great in dark or neutral colors and solids, and she knows it!!
Couldn’t agree more. I live in LA, but spend a lot of time in NYC and see many fashionable women wearing nothing but black. I’ve livened up my own wardrobe with the occasional splash of grey and sometimes – gasp – oatmeal!! LOL. This is a way of dressing with a long tradition and I think Meghan always looks modern and appropriate. I might have preferred a less bulky clutch with this ethereal dress but that’s a quibble.
I’m originally from NYC and now I live in Florida, but my wardrobe is still overwhelmingly black or navy. Several women in my office are also originally from NY, and they wear mostly black or navy, too. I think Meghan looks wonderful. That dress is gorgeous. I’m so used to black and navy that it didn’t register that she doesn’t often wear bright colors. And, unlike a lot of people here, I’m OK with that. My mother always told me to wear what you like and what makes you feel your best. And if that means you wear black, then go for it.
It’s even worse in Paris… hahaha if you ever visit Paris in winter, you will stick out if you are wearing a coat in a non neutral color in winter! Before I studied abroad in Europe my mom dragged me to Kohl’s to find a black coat so I wouldn’t offend the non-color sensibilities of Europeans. Left to my own devices I had bought a dark pink (or as my mom liked to call it a bubblegum pink) winter coat from LL Bean and my mom was horrified. She was like “You can wear that thing when you go skiing! So I can see you on the mountain. THAT IS IT!”
I don’t think Meghan looks out of step in London in black all the time, I don’t think Londoners are known for embracing bright colors either.
It gets tedious saying over and over again, “Meghan looks great, but I wish she’d wear a colour, rather than the constant selection of black and navy.” After awhile each dress blends into a former one and nothing looks fresh nor stands out.
What a treat! What we can see of the dress looks very pretty. I like a full fun skirt but dont really have the occasion to wear one. I like the earrings too.
I know alot of people are tired of Meghan wearing navy but think about it. Dont most of us gravitate towards a specific color pallete when shopping or grab our favorite colors when dressing? And remember these pictures are going to last forever so I think sticking with something classic and timeless is a good idea. Im sure Meghan wears whatever she likes but at the same time puts a good bit of thought into what she wears. And personally, Ive always thought that at times when black seems too ‘harsh’ or ‘serious’ of a color for an event, navy is just right…
Have a great weekend everyone ?
Meghan, Meghan, Meghan…..you are such a beautiful woman. With your skin and hair coloring, you can wear almost every color there is. Why do you keep wearing black and navy? You do look great in those colors; but for me, it looks like you are in ‘mourning’ because you wear those dark colors mostly. You look awesome in the white evening dress you wore this week. Please let us see more colors. God bless you, Harry, and that sweet baby!
Perhaps she’s just more comfortable in black and navy. Personally people say that I look great in red but wearing it makes me feel so “on show” and uncomfortable that I wear it maybe once a year for Christmas. I admire women who wear bright colors but the thought of being encased in so much color makes me anxious, maybe Meghan feels the same.
Great look! Wow–imagine going strapless while pregnant. She’s brave! And she looks fantastic.