Princess Diana's Eagles jacket goes viral ahead of franchise’s Kelly Green jersey game
Princess Diana, the late Princess of Wales, was known for her exquisite fashion sense. She is also especially remembered for donning a Philadelphia Eagles varsity jacket.
Her sporty style statement has become a topic on ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown." The princess' former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, spoke about the importance of the Kelly Green uniform.
Wharfe served as personal protection for Princess Diana and her sons, Prince Harry and Prince William. He said that, since the princess wanted to appear normal, she would dress casually to take her sons to school or to go on outings with them.
"Diana always craved the normalcy. By being a member of the royal family, that was almost impossible. Neither William or Harry, when they were kids, wanted their mother to sort of dress in her finery, take them to school," Wharfe said.
“So all Diana would do is be as casual as possible.”
The mother of two wore Philadelphia's varsity jacket when she was spotted taking a day trip to Alton Towers Theme Park with Prince William and Prince Harry.
Who gave Princess Diana the Eagles varsity jacket?
Princess Diana was known to have worn a Philadelphia Eagles varsity jacket, which became a famous and unexpected addition to her wardrobe and garnered attention worldwide. The story behind the jacket is quite fascinating.
It is believed that Princess Diana acquired the jacket through a chance meeting with Jack Edelstein, the Eagles statistician, at the funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco, who was originally from Philadelphia.
Edelstein struck up a conversation with Diana and learned that her favorite colors were green and silver, which coincidentally matched the Eagles' team colors. As a result, he offered to send her some Eagles-branded t-shirts.
However, Leonard Tose, the owner of Philadelphia at the time, thought it would be more fitting to gift Diana a custom-made team jacket instead. Princess Diana graciously accepted the offer, and after receiving the jacket, she expressed her gratitude to Edelstein in a note, mentioning that she had been wearing it.
As mentioned before, Diana's decision to wear the team's jacket was not due to any particular affiliation with the team or passion for football. Rather, she appreciated the aesthetic appeal of the jacket and found it to be a casual and stylish piece that allowed her to present herself as a "normal mother."
Diana's desire for normalcy, despite her royal status, led her to embrace a more casual and laid-back style, which the Philadephia jacket embodied.