Carolyn Bessette- Kennedy

‘CAROLYN LOVED MAKING PEOPLE FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES. THAT WAS HER MISSION’

- Michelle Davies

She was a Calvin Klein executive who married JFK Jr, America’s favorite first son. Two decades after their tragic deaths in a plane crash, she remains an enigmatic fashion icon

Marrying into a world-famous family can be a steep learning curve, as the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, is discovering. The constant scrutiny of one’s actions and an image is relentless. How intriguing, then, to learn that HRH is an ardent fan of a woman who walked a similarly difficult path two decades ago when she married into the Kennedy family, America’s most famous dynasty, and who was regularly likened to the late Princess Diana.

Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was 30 when she married John F Kennedy Junior, the adored son of assassinated President John F Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, in 1996. Their relationship was the stuffof fairytales: he was America’s most eligible bachelor, its ‘first son’, and she a beautiful, unknown, impeccably styled fashion PR who’d seen offstiffcompetition – he’d previously dated Sarah Jessica Parker, Daryl Hannah and Madonna – to steal his heart. Tragically, however, there was no happy ever after. Three years into their marriage, they were killed in a plane crash with Bessette-Kennedy’s sister, Lauren, devastating Americans and triggering an outpouring of grief across the globe. Now, with the 20th anniversary of their deaths being marked this summer, Bessette-Kennedy has re-entered the public consciousness as an enduring style icon. Her 90s uniform of neutral colours and crisp silhouettes inspired a number of SS19 collections, including Burberry, Chanel and Maryam Nassir Zadeh. There are also Instagram accounts now dedicated to her, most notably @carolynbessette, which was set up by Jack Sehnert, design director of handbags and accessories at Steve Madden.