Kristen Stewart’s take on Princess Diana’s accent heard for first time as Spencer trailer is finally released
- The first trailer for Spencer has been released
- Stewart utters just two words in the short preview
- It was revealed in June last year that the Twilight actress, 31, would depict the late royal in a film which dramatises a ‘critical’ weekend in the early 90s
- Other actresses who have played the late royal include Emma Corrin in The Crown last year and Naomi Watts for the biopic Diana in 2013
- The story is said to take place over three days during one of Diana’s final Christmases at the House of Windsor in their Sandringham estate in Norfolk
- Spencer is set for theatrical release on November 5
The first trailer for Spencer has been released, with fans hearing star Kristen Stewart’s take on Princess Diana’s accent for the first time.
Stewart utters just two words in the short preview, responding: ‘They don’t,’ to Sally Hawkins’ character – so far undisclosed – after she tells Diana: ‘They know everything,’ when referring to the press.
Set in 1991 and set for release on November 5, the emotional clip – just over one minute in length – sees 31-year-old Stewart roaming the grounds of Sandringham Estate at Christmas time as her marriage to Prince Charles breaks down in the wake of divorce and infidelity rumours.
Trailer: The first trailer for Spencer has been released, with fans hearing 31-year-old star Kristen Stewart’s take on Princess Diana’s accent for the first time
Some scenes show the family posing for their annual Christmas portrait, while others see Stewart’s Diana being hounded by paparazzi, collapsed in bed and sprinting through the estate’s grounds wearing a yellow dress.
A particularly emotional moment in the much-anticipated trailer shows Diana breaking down in tears, while actor Jack Farthing is seen in character as Prince Charles.
The film’s logline reads: ‘The marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles has long since grown cold. Though rumours of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate.
‘There’s eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game. But this year, things will be profoundly different. Spencer is an imagining of what might have happened during those few fateful days.’
Scenes: Some scenes show the family posing for their Christmas portrait, while others see Diana hounded by paparazzi, collapsed in bed and sprinting through the estate’s grounds
Two words: Stewart utters just two words in the short preview, responding: ‘They don’t,’ to Sally Hawkins’ character after she tells Diana: ‘They know everything,’ referring to the press
The film’s logline reads: ‘The marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles has long since grown cold’
It continues: ‘Though rumours of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate’
Kristen perfectly embodied Princess Diana in the latest glimpse of the royal biopic Spencer, released on Wednesday.
In a new promotional shot for the film the Twilight actress is seen crumpled on the floor while clad in a voluminous white ball gown.
The harrowing image was tweeted by the production company with the caption: ‘Every fairy tale ends.’
Prince Charles: Actor Jack Farthing is seen in character as Prince Charles
Christmas dinner: The royal family is also seen sitting for Christmas dinner in the new trailer
‘Every fairy tale ends’: Stewart emulated Princess Diana in a harrowing new image crumpled on the floor – as the release date for Spencer biopic was confirmed on Wednesday
In the image, Kristen’s face could not be seen as she appeared to be sobbing into her gown.
The gown bore a resemblance to the striking ensemble Diana wore on a official visit to the Élysée Palace in Paris in 1988.
However, it appears the look was just inspiration, as the film is set to depict a dramatised version of a ‘critical’ weekend in the early 1990s, when Diana decided that her marriage to Prince Charles wasn’t working.
A vision in white: For the shot, Kristen (right in 2020) wore a gown that bore a resemblance to the ensemble Diana wore on a official visit to the Élysée Palace in Paris in 1988 (left)
Filming for Spencer wrapped earlier in the year, with the production company teasing fans with several promotional images.
In one shot, the actress perfectly replicated the Princess of Wales’ stunning gaze while sporting a tartan blazer that became known as one of her most iconic looks.
The image showed Kristen softly smiling into the camera along with her signature head tilt, sporting a cream polo neck jumper and tartan blazer.
Like twins! Filming for Spencer wrapped earlier in the year, with the production company teasing fans with several promotional images
Spitting image: After a prior image stunned fans by showing Kristen’s resemblance to the late Princess (right), this photo (left) made it clear the actress has embodied the royal’s soft gaze
It was a look famously worn by Diana while she paid a visit to Portsmouth in 1989, meeting the town’s mayor and residents at Eastney Community Centre.
The image also offered a telling hint about the film’s setting, as Kristen’s Diana is still wearing her eye-catching blue engagement ring, along with oversized pearl earrings.
Spencer will follow the breakdown of her high-profile, 15-year marriage to Charles and is primarily being filmed at the Schloss Marquardt in Potsdam – a castle which is doubling as Sandringham Estate.
The story is said to take place over three days during one of Diana’s final Christmases at the House of Windsor in their Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England in 1991.
The script, written by English screenwriter Steven Knight, who has also written Peaky Blinders, follows the moments Diana realised she ‘needed to veer from a path that put her in line to one day be queen’.
Earlier in the year, an accuracy row broke out as royal experts branded the project inaccurate because it’s set on a weekend at Sandringham which never happened.
According to royal biographers Robert Jobson and Ingrid Seward, Diana had stopped visiting the estate before the period in which the drama is set.
Speaking on True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat, Robert said: ‘I don’t even think she was there that weekend. She wasn’t even at Sandringham, on this supposed weekend.
Filming: Kristen was pictured on the set of the new movie Spencer in Dülmen, Germany, earlier in March as she filmed scenes on the grounds of Schloss Marquardt in Potsdam
‘The film will suggest this is where the decision was made to divorce, but she never made that decision. I didn’t think she was at Sandringham after 1990 and this was set in 1991.’
Ingrid added: ‘The film is based on three days at Sandringham, and the period that it is based on, Diana wasn’t going to Sandringham anymore.’
Their comments follows widespread criticism of Netflix drama The Crown, which saw politicians, experts and friends of the Royal Family call for a disclaimer to warn viewers that the show twists the truth.
Friends of close senior royals including Prince Charles even went so far as to accuse it of ‘trolling on a Hollywood budget’.
Way back when: It was revealed in June 2020 that Kristen would depict the late royal in a film which dramatises a ‘critical’ weekend in the early 1990s (Diana pictured with Prince Harry in 1993)
Director Pablo Larraín explained that the drama will not delve into Diana’s tragic death, but instead focus on her relationship with the royal and the love she had for children Prince William and Prince Harry.
The filmmaker said: ‘We decided to get into a story about identity, and around how a woman decides somehow, not to be the queen…
Director Pablo Larraín explained that the drama will not delve into Diana’s tragic death, but instead focus on her relationship with the royal and the love she had for children Prince William and Prince Harry.
The filmmaker said: ‘We decided to get into a story about identity, and around how a woman decides somehow, not to be the queen…
Incredible: In January, a first look shot of Kristen in the film Spencer was released
A vision: Diana is pictured at Sandringham on Christmas Day in 1993, in the weekend the movie centres around, while Kristen is seen in a near-identical ensemble in the promo shot (L-R)
‘She’s a woman who, in the journey of the movie, decides and realises that she wants to be the woman she was before she met Charles.’
When the news was first announced, Twitter was swarmed with questions and comments about Kristen’s role.
Pablo quickly defended his decision to cast the American actress in the role, telling Deadline: ‘Kristen is one of the greatest actors around today.
‘Kristen can be many things, and she can be very mysterious and very fragile an ultimately very strong as well, which is what we need.’
‘The combination of those elements made me think of her. The way she responded to the script and how she is approaching the character, it’s very beautiful to see. I think she’s going to do something stunning and intriguing at the same time.’
Royal role: The announcement was met with a mixed response, including fury over failure to cast a British actress and claims Kristen does not look enough like Diana (pictured in 2020)
Actresses that have played Princess Diana
Naomi Watts as Princess Diana in the 2013 movie Diana
Naomi Watts in Diana (2013)
British-Australian actress Naomi Watts famously played the Princess of Wales in the 2013 movie Diana which was derided by critics at the time. ‘Diana might have been flawed and scheming and love-starved, but this film doesn’t help explain that. Nor does it illuminate the common touch and humanitarian side that endeared her to a global audience,’ film critic Suzanne S. Brown wrote. Even Naomi herself would later admit that the film was a ‘sinking ship’.
Emma Corrin in The Crown (2020)
Newcomer Emma Corrin was cast as Princess Diana in the fourth season of The Crown in 2019, and earned critical acclaim for her portrayal of the charming but troubled young princess.
Newcomer: Emma Corrin was cast as Princess Diana in the fourth season of The Crown in 2019
Lesley Harcourt in William & Catherine (2011)
Scottish actress Lesley Harcourt – who has had roles in British crime drama Taggart – played Diana in this cheesy Hallmark movie in 2011. The TV drama was described as ‘superficial fun’ by critics and not taken very seriously.
Genevieve O’Reilly in Diana: Last Days Of A Princess (2007)
This Channel 5 docu-drama starred Irish actress Genevieve O’Reilly, who is perhaps best known for her work in the Star Wars franchise as Mon Mothma. It certainly fared better than other projects, with a review in The New York Times praising it: ‘It portrays her as needy but manipulative, loving but flawed — in other words, as a human being. Blending documentary techniques and scripted drama, it gives a surprisingly credible picture of the princess’s last summer.’
Made-for-TV: Irish actress Genevieve O’Reilly played Diana in 2007’s Diana: Last Days Of A Princess
Serena Scott Thomas in Diana: Her True Story (1993)
Based on the publication of the same name by Andrew Morton, British actress and model Serena Scott Thomas also found some praise for her portrayal in this made-for-TV movie. Entertainment Weekly said Serena showed ‘great charm’ in the role, but said she ‘more closely resembles a softer version of Murphy Brown‘s Faith Ford than she does the angular princess.’ Interestingly, Serena later played Carole Middleton in the 2011 TV movie William & Kate, depicting the courtship between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Amy Seccombe in Diana: A Tribute To The People’s Princess (1998)
This ill-advised Princess Diana tribute was released just a year after her death, and starred little known actress Amy Seccombe for the part. The project was largely ignored upon release and thought to be distasteful. Seccombe’s only other role after the TV movie was playing a medic on the TV show Operation Good Guys.
Cheesy: Amy Seccombe and George Jackos play Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed in the TV movie The People’s Princess
Julie Cox in Princess In Love (1996)
Based on James Hewitt’s book, this American TV movie follows the relationship that blossomed himself between Diana and James Hewitt. The role went to British actress Julie Cox who was recently seen in the crime drama Broadchurch. The title failed to have much impact upon its release.
Caroline Bliss in Charles And Diana: A Royal Love Story (1982)
This 1982 American made-for-television biographical drama starred Catherine Oxenberg as Diana, Christopher Baines as Prince Charles, and Hollywood royalty Olivia de Havilland as Queen Elizabeth. It originally aired September 20, 1982 on CBS. One damning review from The Washington Post called it a piece of ‘slack-jawed heraldic voyeurism incapable of, and apparently uninterested in, transforming remote news figures into believable mortals.’
US versions: (L-R) Caroline Bliss IN Charles And Diana: A Royal Love Story (1982), AND Julie Cox in Princess In Love (1996)
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