People.com Royals Surprise! Every Photo from Meghan Markle's Unannounced Appearance at the British Fashion Awards The Duchess of Sussex was all smiles as she cradled her growing baby bump over her one-shoulder Givenchy black dress for her big cameo By Stephanie Petit Stephanie Petit Stephanie Petit is a Royals Writer/Reporter at PEOPLE. She has been with the brand since 2016 after graduating from The College of New Jersey and holding previous positions at Seventeen, CBS Radio and more. Follow the proud dog mom on Twitter at @stephpetit_ for the latest on Queen Elizabeth's corgis. People Editorial Guidelines Published on December 10, 2018 05:34 PM Share Tweet Pin Email We independently research, test, review, and recommend the best products—learn more about our process. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission. 01 of 12 Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images Surprise! Meghan Markle made an unannounced appearance at the British Fashion Awards on Monday. 02 of 12 Meghan Markle. Tristan Fewings/BFC/Getty Images She had a very special reason for her appearance: to honor her wedding dress designer, Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy, with the British Womenswear Designer of the Year award. 03 of 12 Meghan Markle and actress Rosamund Pike. John Phillips/BFC/Getty Images The Duchess of Sussex, alongside actress Rosamund Pike, was all smiles as she cradled her growing baby bump. 04 of 12 Meghan Markle. She swept her hair back into a low bun – without her signature pieces of loose hair in the front. 05 of 12 Meghan Markle. Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images "It is such an honor to be here celebrating British fashion and British fashion designers in my new home of the U.K.," Meghan said to cheers from the crowd. 06 of 12 Meghan Markle. Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images) Waight Keller thanked Meghan for trusting her to design her gown for her big day. 07 of 12 Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images "I got to know Meghan on such a personal level," the British designer said. "To have someone like that trust you in an incredible moment in their life is something that is just the most unbelievable honor. I can't thank you enough because it was the most beautiful moment." 08 of 12 Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images Appropriately, Meghan rocked a one-shoulder black dress by Givenchy for the occasion. 09 of 12 Meghan Markle. Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images) Meghan also had her nails painted black – a break from the Queen's preference of natural-looking polish shades. 10 of 12 Meghan Markle. Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images That's one fashionable royal mama-to-be! 11 of 12 Meghan Markle. Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty The mom-to-be was noticeably wearing black nail polish as she broke royal style protocol and strayed away from the aesthetic standard of delicate, translucent nail shades previously set by the Queen and Kate Middleton. 12 of 12 Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images The Duchess wore gold jewelry by Pippa Small and gold strappy sandals by Tamara Mellon (on which PEOPLE reades get an exclusive discount!).