The quirky reason Princess Diana wore a Philadelphia Eagles jacket

There was often a story behind Princess Diana's outfits, even the more casual ones, like the Virgin sweatshirt she wore at the gym.

And in 1991 and 1994, she was spotted wearing a Philadelphia Eagles bomber jacket, which was a pretty random choice for the Princess of Wales I think you'll agree, given that they're an American football team.

There was actually a quirky reason behind it, and it all starts with Princess Grace of Monaco, who sadly died in 1982. Diana went to the funeral to represent the Crown, where she met Jack Edelstein, who was the statistician for the Eagles and a friend's of Grace Kelly.

The pair got to chatting about lots of things from politics to football, according to Edelstein, who recounted the story to the Philadelphia Daily after her death.

He said, 'She thought football was like soccer. She asked, "What are your colours?" I said, "Green and silver." She said, "Those are my favorite colors."'

So when he got back to the States, he immediately got a bunch of merchandise made just to send to her.

'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. 'She sent me a very nice note, how she'd been wearing them around.'

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.