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First-look at Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in upcoming film Spencer

<p>The actress as Diana, Princess of Wales</p> (PA)

The actress as Diana, Princess of Wales

(PA)

A first-look image of actress Kristen Stewart as Diana, Princess of Wales in the upcoming film Spencer, has been released.

The film will tell the story of a weekend in the early 1990s when Diana reportedly decided her marriage to the Prince of Wales was failing.

Stewart said of the film: “Spencer is a dive inside an emotional imagining of who Diana was at a pivotal turning point in her life.

“It is a physical assertion of the sum of her parts, which starts with her given name: Spencer. It is a harrowing effort for her to return to herself, as Diana strives to hold onto what the name Spencer means to her”.

Stewart has previously said the story is “one of the saddest to exist ever.”

In an interview last year, Stewart, 30, said she had been doing extensive research so she knows the princess “implicitly”.

The star will play Diana in the film, which is due to be released at the end of the yearABC via Getty Images
The star will play Diana in the film, which is due to be released at the end of the yearABC via Getty Images

She told InStyle in October: “The accent is intimidating as all hell because people know that voice, and it’s so, so distinct and particular. I’m working on it now and already have my dialect coach.

“In terms of research, I’ve gotten through two and a half biographies, and I’m finishing all the material before I actually go make the movie.

“It’s one of the saddest stories to exist ever, and I don’t want to just play Diana – I want to know her implicitly. I haven’t been this excited about playing a part, by the way, in so long.”

Spencer will be directed by Pablo Larrain and the script has been written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

It is expected to launch in the autumn, ahead of the 25th anniversary of Diana’s death in 2022.

Producers have not yet revealed who will play Charles.

Others cast in the film, directed by Pablo Larrain, include Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins and Sean Harris.

It comes after British actors were told not to audition for the role of a young Duke of Cambridge in the forthcoming film.

A casting invitation posted online in November 2020 called for boys aged between nine and 12 to apply for the role of the prince, when he was aged 11.

However, it says only European passport holders can apply and “NOT British-European due to new Brexit rules from 1st January 2021.”

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