A replica of Princess Diana‘s Philadelphia Eagles jacket sold for $100,000 on Friday. Athletic merchandise retailer Mitchell & Ness recreated the lookalike wool bomber, which the late royal was pictured wearing on the cover of People magazine in 1994.
The jacket, which was put up for auction in support of the Eagles Autism Foundation, features the signature of Kylie Kelce, wife of Eagles center Jason Kelce. All proceeds from the sale went to the EAF, which supports autism research in Philadelphia and beyond. Team owner Jeffrey Lurie became connected to the cause following his brother Peter’s diagnosis.
Princess Diana acquired the original jacket following a run-in with Eagles statistician Jack Edelstein at Grace Kelly’s funeral. “She thought football was like soccer,” Edelstein told the Philadelphia Daily News after Diana’s passing in 1997. “She asked, ‘What are your colors?’ I said, ‘Green and silver.’ She said, ‘Those are my favorite colors.’“
The former Princess of Wales was photographed in the jacket on at least two occasions: the first being in 1991 while picking up her son, Prince Harry, from school. After re-wearing the piece during a visit to Alton Towers, a theme park in England, with her sons, Diana was pictured on the cover of People.
Actor and Philadelphia native Rob McElhenney submitted a $62,000 bid for the jacket in honor of Kelce’s jersey number, 62. The “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” creator ultimately lost to a higher bidder, who has not yet been named.
Mitchell & Ness also sold several unsigned versions of the bomber on their website and on fanatics.com. Priced at $400, many are now available for resale for at least double the original cost.
