Princess Diana is considered iconic for many things, one of the most enduring being her fashion preferences. One item in particular has always intrigued fans across the globe, and a close confidante of the late princess’ recently opened up about the history of the famed jacket.
In the 1990s, Diana was spotted wearing a bespoke Philadelphia Eagles varsity jacket on several occasions. The famed piece of sports apparel and its beloved former owner are being featured in this Sunday’s episode of ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, which is covering the return of the Eagles’ vintage Kelly Green uniforms. For the segment about the princess, her former bodyguard Ken Wharfe opened up about what drew Diana to the American football jacket — and her two sons have a lot to do with it.
Warfe, who served on the princess’ security team from 1988 to 1993, began, “Diana always craved the normalcy. By being a member of the royal family, that was almost impossible” (per People). He added, “Neither William or Harry, when they were kids, wanted their mother to sort of dress in her finery, take them to school, so all Diana would do is be as casual as possible.”
Warfe alleged that the mom of two wasn’t concerned with flashing fancy clothes during school runs, regardless of her sons’ desire for her to keep a low profile. “It wasn’t there to impress the people at school,” he said of the famous jacket. “She wanted to be seen as a young mother that was, you know, ‘With it,'” Warfe explained. “Diana loved to be different, this was her style. It sort of showed the public and her children that she was a normal mother in a style that people liked.”
Legend has it that Diana was gifted the letterman jacket from the Eagles’ former statistician Jack Edelstein after they met at Princess Grace of Monaco’s funeral. Grace Kelly was from Philly, and during Diana and Edelstein’s conversation, he learned the British princess’ favorite colors were green and silver — the NFL team’s colors. Edelstein promised to send Diana some teamwear, and thus the jacket was born to live on as one of the most famous pieces of fashion in modern history.
Before you go, check out the most heartwarming and relatable photos of the royals being normal parents.
