It would have been the ultimate 90s pop-culture moment: Princess Diana gracing the cover of JFK Jr's groundbreaking political lifestyle magazine, George. While the iconic collaboration never came to pass, the highly confidential design concepts drawn up behind the scenes leave a haunting impression decades later.
This fascinating chapter of history was revisited in detail at HELLO!'s first-ever US readers' event at the Moxy NYC Chelsea. An audience of eager royal fans joined A Right Royal Podcast hosts Emily Nash, Andrea Caamano and Emmy Griffiths for an exclusive live taping, taking home coveted goodie bags packed with beauty and hair products from No.7, TRESemmé, Nexxus, and Kiehl's.
Scroll down to watch the full podcast episode.
Taking the stage to share her personal memories of that era was RoseMarie Terenzio, JFK Jr's trusted aide and the author of Fairy Tale Interrupted: A Memoir of Life, Love and Loss and JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography. During the intimate chat, she revealed the haunting details of an unreleased George cover concept that was drawn up for the Princess - a design that feels eerie in hindsight, after Diana's untimely death in a car accident in Paris.
The concept that was planned for the Princess
At the time of their 1995 meeting, JFK Jr was preparing to launch George and desperately wanted Princess Diana to appear on one of its upcoming covers.
To pitch the idea, John went into Diana's private suite at the Carlyle Hotel armed with a folder of highly confidential sketches and mock-up scenarios created by the magazine's creative director, Matt Berman.
While Diana ultimately passed on the offer because she felt the timing wasn't right, RoseMarie recalled one specific cover concept they had designed for the Princess before the meeting took place.
It was a sketch that depicted Diana in the back of a luxury vehicle, surrounded by a scrum of media.
© Getty Images"There was one that was actually really eerie afterwards, which was her in the back of a limousine," RoseMarie shared with the live audience. "A sketch, and the window is down halfway and she's wearing sunglasses, and paparazzi are surrounding the car."
"So I mean, in hindsight, it was spooky, chilling," RoseMarie admitted. "But that was really the most of her life... so it wasn't that far-fetched."
© Getty ImagesA secret 'caper' kept under wraps
While the eerie paparazzi cover never saw the light of day, the operation to get John into the hotel to present the sketches remains one of the greatest security triumphs of RoseMarie's career.
Working alongside Diana’s personal secretary, Patrick Jephson, the duo managed to coordinate the entire meeting over the phone without a single detail leaking to the press.
© Mike McGregor
© Mike McGregor"We pulled off the biggest caper in New York City at the time, and no one knew," RoseMarie laughed. "It went off without a hitch. It was incredible. We were so proud. If Patrick and I were in the same room, we would have toasted a glass of champagne!"
This royal revelation was just one of many shared during our US readers' event, which explored the British royals' special relationship with America. From RoseMarie sharing details of JFK's unfiltered first impression of Princess Diana, to our Royal Editor Emily Nash revealing what it was like to accompany the King and Queen on their US State Visit, it's a must-watch for royal fans.
How to watch the podcast episode
As a VIP member, you can watch the full episode of HELLO!'s special live A Right Royal Podcast episode below:
