Princess Diana Wore Philadelphia Eagles Jacket to Show She Was 'With It' as a Young Mom, Bodyguard Says

The late Princess of Wales' unexpected fashion statement is the focus of a special segment heading to ESPN — and PEOPLE has an exclusive sneak peek

Princess Diana's wardrobe was full of surprises — like a Philadelphia Eagles varsity jacket!

The late Princess of Wales' sporty style statement is the subject of discussion in an upcoming feature on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, airing Sunday around noon ET. In a segment timed to the return of the Philly football team’s throwback Kelly Green uniforms, Princess Diana’s former bodyguard Ken Wharfe speaks for the first time about the significance of the coat in her royal closet. Wharfe served as personal protection officer for Princess Diana and her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, from 1988 to 1993, during the years Diana was photographed in the jacket on the school run.

"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 says. “So all Diana would do is be as casual as possible.”

“And it wasn't there to impress the people at school. She wanted to be seen as a young mother that was, you know, 'with it,' ” he continues of the princess. "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."

The fashion statement became part of the cultural conversation after a photo of Princess Diana in the green Eagles jacket graced PEOPLE in June 1994. The hands-on mom wore it for a day trip to Alton Towers Theme Park with Prince William and Prince Harry, and Eagles team owner Jeffrey Lurie even had the cover enlarged for his office at Veterans Stadium.

Related: The Story Behind Princess Diana's Philadelphia Eagles Jacket (It Involves an American Royal!)

While the royal provenance of Princess Diana’s bespoke Eagles coat is well known, its whereabouts today remain a mystery. According to Wharfe, the continued intrigue around why the British princess sported a letterman jacket for an American football team (not parlance for soccer!) would amuse Diana if she were alive today.

“This jacket wasn't just on a floor of her wardrobe in a palace. If Diana were alive today, she'd be excited to know that this jacket, 25, 30 years on, has now become the subject of very positive public scrutiny. I think that's fantastic,” Wharfe says.

As the story goes, the Princess of Wales received the jacket from the Eagles’ statistician Jack Edelstein after they connected at the funeral for Princess Grace of Monaco in 1982. Before she became a movie star and married Prince Rainier, Grace Kelly was a Philadelphia native and family friend of Edelstein.

The statistician got to talking with Princess Diana and learned her favorite colors were green and silver — the shades of the Eagles team.

Related: Princess Diana's Iconic Black Sheep Sweater Sells for Record $1.1M at Auction

After their meeting, Edelstein promised to send Diana some gear — and came through with a package that included the now-iconic bomber.

"We also sent her a beautiful Eagles jacket, made for her. It was [then-team owner] Leonard Tose's idea. He never went second-class," Edelstein later told the Philadelphia Daily News. "She sent me a very nice note, how she'd been wearing them around."

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Princess Diana’s sartorial endorsement of the Eagles team will long live on in fans’ hearts, and photos of her in the coat can be spotted in sports bars around the city today.

"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,” says Merrill Reese, the Eagles’ play-by-play announcer since 1977.

Catch the full segment in the next episode of Sunday NFL Countdown, which airs Sundays on ESPN from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET.

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