Following the Philadelphia Eagles' 38-7 victory over the New York Giants on Saturday night, they begin preparations to face the San Francisco 49ers this upcoming weekend, in what marks the final step to the Super Bowl.
Though the Eagles may count A-List actors such as Bradley Cooper, Will Smith and Kevin Hart among their fans, one of the team's most famous past supporters comes from a different realm of celebrity altogether—the British monarchy.
Princess Diana was well-known to have an affinity with the U.S, with reports around the time of her 1997 death at the age of 36 suggesting she was even considering relocating to California. Some years prior to this she made headlines for adopting a new favorite fashion accessory, a Philadelphia Eagles jacket, complete with enlarged eagle logo.
Here, Newsweek looks at how Princess Diana got her famous Eagles Jacket and where she liked to wear it most.
How Did Princess Diana Get Her Eagles Jacket?
Though Princess Diana visited the U.S. multiple times after her marriage to Prince Charles, and increasingly since their separation in 1992 and divorce in 1996, she never visited Philadelphia, or watched an Eagles game in another state.
Her connection to the team came through the late Philadelphia Eagles statistician Jack Edelstein who met the royal in Monaco, at the 1982 funeral of Grace Kelly.
Edelstein was a friend of Kelly's brother and told The Philadelphia Inquirer after her death that he found Diana to be a "very warm person, very sweet, very kind."
During the funeral, the princess told Edelstein that she thought "football was like soccer," and she asked "what are your colours?"
"I told her, 'green and silver,'" Edelstein recounted. "She said: 'Those are my favorite colors."
The statistician went back to the States and prepared a package of Eagles merchandise to send to the royal, including an elaborate custom bomber jacket, with the team's logo on the back.
"We also sent her a beautiful Eagles jacket, made for her," Edelstein told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1997. "It was Leonard Tose's [team owner at the time] idea. He never went second class."
"She sent me a very nice note about how she'd been wearing them around. Some of the sportswriters told me she'd been photographed in an Eagles jacket with the Eagles insignia on it, a silver insignia with an eagle on it. That's the one we sent her."
NBC Sports quoted Ray Didinger, author of The Eagles Encyclopedia, as saying in 2018 that the princess "wore it a lot actually. There was a photo of her wearing it taken and it wound up on the cover of People magazine. It totally came out of the blue."
"That Eagles jacket became a very hot fashion item. Not just in Philadelphia but all over the place."
Where Did Princess Diana Wear Her Eagles Jacket?
Though the princess owned her Eagles jacket for a number of years, there are no known photographs of her wearing it while in the U.S.
The jacket made two key public appearances, once in 1991 while the royal was dropping Prince Harry off for a day at Wetherby School in London.
Photographers captured the princess' image as she ran in and out of the school, wearing the unmistakable jacket with a pared down skirt and blouse.
The second appearance saw Diana wear it for an off-duty trip to Alton Towers theme park in England with Prince Harry and Prince William.
The trip took place in April 1994, just three years before her death.
The whereabouts of Diana's Eagles jacket today is unknown. If the princess did not dispose of it before her death it will have been inherited by William and Harry.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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