“The Kennedys and the Windsors: The Story of Two Dynasties, One Born, One Made” examines the intertwined history of two powerful families.

Princess Diana turned down* George *magazine cover for a pretty good reason, new book claims

"The Kennedys and the Windsors: The Story of Two Dynasties, One Born, One Made" examines the intertwined history of two powerful families.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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May 15, 2026 3:11 p.m. ET

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Princess Diana. Credit:

Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty

- Princess Diana turned down appearing on *George *magazine for a fair reason.

- The royal and JFK Jr. met in 1995 to discuss her appearing on the cover of his magazine that married politics and pop culture.

- *The Kennedys and the Windsors: The Story of Two Dynasties, One Born, One Made *hits bookstores on June 2.

Princess Diana had a fair reason to turn down appearing on the cover of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s *George *magazine.

*The Kennedys and the Windsors: The Story of Two Dynasties, One Born, One Made *by Caroline Hallemann details a 1995 meeting between Princess Diana and JFK Jr., where he asked her to appear on the political magazine, according to an excerpt published by *Vanity Fair*. The book examines the intertwined histories of two powerful families.

Kennedy's close friend, artist Sasha Chermayeff, posited that he wanted the royal to appear on the cover because "he was trying to capture the intersection of political life and celebrity life in his magazine." Princess Diana was the perfect candidate because she was a combination of those things.

"She was a celebrity, a royal who had a defined role, but she also had a personal and political mission. She had ideas about how she wanted to help the world. She had her own feelings about her service, at least that’s the perspective that I got from her," Chermayeff added.**

John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1988.

Brownie Harris/Corbis via Getty

Initially, the royal was “keen on the idea," according to her private secretary Patrick Jephson.

When Lady Di and JFK Jr. met at the Carlyle Hotel for the meeting, however, "this particular conversation about the cover of George was over before it started," writes Hallemann. The princess had made up her mind to decline any offer to be featured in *George*, which launched that year.

Halleman writes, "She needed the magazine to be a success before she’d publicly front it — and even with a Kennedy at the helm of the publication, that was hardly a guaranteed prospect."

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“Well, you know, this is all very nice, John. Thank you. But I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t take up the opportunity this time, but would love to maybe for your fiftieth or your hundredth issue or something,” Princess Diana reportedly said at the time.

JFK Jr. stayed in touch with Lady Di after her initial rejection, asking her other times to be part of *George *magazine. She sent him a letter in February 1997 "regrettably" turning down his ask again, adding a haunting few lines at the end.

“I hope the media are leaving both you and Carolyn alone. I know how difficult it is, but believe it or not, the worst paparazzi are here in Europe!” she wrote of JFK Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette, underlining the word "hope." Princess Diana died six months later from injuries sustained from a car crash in Paris while being pursued by the paparazzi.**

Princess Diana in Washington, D.C., in November 1985.

Terry Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty

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Lady Di wasn't the only royal JFK Jr. pursued to be featured on *George*. Kennedy also asked then-Prince Charles to appear on the magazine in celebration of his 50th birthday. He made the proposal during a 1998 dinner party at Kensington Palace.****

While Prince Charles was in *George* once before in 1997, in a picture meeting the Spice Girls, he declined Kennedy's invitation to team up. Society columnist Aileen Mehle said the ask was “graciously met by something that sounded like ‘um, uhm, hum, we’ll see, um, uhm, hum.’ After all these years, [Prince Charles] is an expert at avoiding the pinning-down process.”

John F. Kennedy Jr. at the press conference for George Magazine in New York in September 1995.

Ron Galella Collection via Getty

*The Kennedys and the Windsors: The Story of Two Dynasties, One Born, One Made* comes out on June 2. It is available for preorder wherever books are sold.**

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