Meghan Markle was the only Royal not to wear a brooch at the RAF centenary and here's why

(Image credit: Rex)

The Royals were out in force to mark 100 years of the RAF at Westminster Abbey yesterday, and while Meghan looked chic in a black Dior dress, you might have missed the fact that she was missing one detail: the brooch that everyone else was wearing.

Kate Middleton looked elegant in a pale blue Alexander McQueen coat, which she adorned with the Dacre brooch, a large oval adorned with jewels, which is the highest award a female cadet can achieve.

While of course, the Duchess isn't a cadet, she received the brooch as a gift following her appointment as Honorary Air Commandant of the organisation.

And she wasn't the only one with the accessory, as the Queen, the Duchess of Cornwall and even the Duchess of Wessex all wore a brooch on their left breast, while Meghan wore no accessories or jewellery, and there's a reason behind it.

She has simply not been a Royal long enough to be made an honorary member of an RAF base.

The Queen wore the Jardine Star Brooch, which is shaped like a star and surrounded by diamonds, though this is more of a family heirloom than a symbol of the RAF.

However, the Duchess of Cornwall did wear her RAF brooch (she is Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Halton), and Princess Anne wore a gold version of it (she's an Honorary Air Commodore of Royal Air Force Brize Norto), whilst the Duchess of Wessex wore a gold and diamond brooch (as the Honorary Air Commodore Royal Air Force Wittering).

So it's just a matter of time before Meghan is bestowed with a similar honour, especially as her husband Prince Harry has served in the military for almost a decade.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.