Was Princess Diana a Philadelphia Eagles Fan? The Real Story Behind Her Iconic '90s Varsity Jacket
Before the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2025 Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 9, a question has resurfaced among football and royal fans alike: Was Princess Diana an Eagles fan?
The late Princess of Wales was frequently photographed wearing a Philadelphia Eagles varsity-style jacket during school runs with her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. The striking green and silver coat became one of her most memorable off-duty fashion statements, but did she have an allegiance to the team?
Diana's connection to the Eagles dates back to 1982, when she met Jack Edelstein, a longtime statistician for the team, at the funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco. Grace Kelly, the Hollywood star-turned-princess, was a Philadelphia native and family friend of Edelstein.
During their conversation, Diana, unfamiliar with American football, asked about the Eagles' team colors. "I said, 'Green and silver," Edelstein told the Philadelphia Daily News . "She said, 'Those are my favorite colors.' "
Edelstein promised to send her some Eagles gear, and he followed through with a package that included hats, shirts, shorts, and the now-iconic jacket.
"We also sent her a beautiful Eagles jacket, made for her. It was Leonard Tose's idea. He never went second-class," Edelstein said of the team owner at the time. "She sent me a very nice note, how she'd been wearing them around."
Diana, in turn, sent a thank-you note expressing how much she enjoyed wearing the items.
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While the gifted jacket became a staple in Diana's casual wardrobe, those who knew her suggest she wore it more as a style choice than an expression of team loyalty.
"She wears these things because they create a look," her biographer Andrew Morton told Daily News writer Barbara Beck in 1991. "She knows very little about English sports, let alone American teams."
Diana's sporty-chic aesthetic often included American influences—she was known for wearing sweatshirts from Harvard and Northwestern University (her future daughter-in-law Meghan Markle's alma mater), even though she had no direct connection to those institutions. The Eagles jacket fit seamlessly into her wardrobe of laid-back luxury, offering a cool and effortless image during the early '90s.
The jacket's cultural significance only grew after a 1994 photo of Diana wearing it landed on the cover of PEOPLE magazine. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was so taken by the moment that he had the cover enlarged and displayed in his office at Veterans Stadium. Decades later, images of Diana in the jacket still circulate online, reigniting curiosity about its whereabouts and whether she truly had a soft spot for the Eagles.
Ken Wharfe, Diana's former bodyguard, recently weighed in on the discussion in a segment for ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, timed to the Eagles' return to their classic Kelly Green uniforms.
"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 told ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown in 2023. 'So all Diana would do is be as casual as possible.'
While there's no evidence that Princess Diana ever watched an Eagles game, her link to the team through Edelstein and her love of the green-and-silver color scheme made the jacket an enduring piece of royal-meets-sports history.
Even Eagles announcer Merrill Reese, who has called games since 1977, acknowledges the unique relationship between Diana and the fanbase.
"This fan base will be loyal to anybody who buys into their Philadelphia Eagles. So if Diana was somehow an Eagles fan, she would be one of us,' Reese said in 2023.
Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Though the jacket's current whereabouts remain a mystery, its place in sports and royal fashion history is cemented —and during a Super Bowl featuring the Eagles, it's clear the legacy of Diana's connection to the team lives on.
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