THERE is something about Princess Diana that has always captured the hearts of people. Even after her unfortunate death, her beautiful legacy continues to live on. In fact, the interest surrounding the princess seems to never grow old for Hollywood.
From TV series to biographies, there have been numerous media depictions and explorations about the Princess’s life and mystical death. Her brother, the Earl Spencer poignantly remarked upon the reason for this admiration.
“Diana was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty. All over the world, she was a symbol of selfless humanity. Someone with a natural nobility who was classless and who proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic.”
In line with the new biographical film, Spencer, here is a list of actresses who have played the Princess of Wales.
1. Caroline Bliss in Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story
Starting off our list is Caroline Bliss. The British actress portrayed the princess in ABC’s 1982 movie, Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story. The movie was a dramatic telling of the royal pair’s wedding at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
In a 2019 interview, Bliss opened up about the casting process behind her very first role.
“So, I walked in and sat down, never for a minute thinking that I was anything like Diana. It just hadn’t occurred to me. I don’t think I look very much like her and I could see them also thinking, ‘Well, I’m not sure.’ And halfway through the meeting, they said something and for some bizarre reason my reaction was, I went, Oh!”
So, happened her gesture of astonishment very much resembled the late princess. “And they all went, ‘Oh my God, she’s done it naturally!’”
2. Catherine Oxenberg in The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana
Right after ABC’s movie was released, CBS decided to release their take on the royal wedding. Titled The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana, the CBS film chronicled the couple’s courtship leading up to their wedding. Although it outperformed ABC’s royal film, the CBS feature was not well-received among critics.
Tom Shales from The Washington Post was particularly not in favour of the film. “The surprise is that ABC’s Charles and Diana: A Royal Love Story was about 48 times better than tonight’s CBS movie,” wrote the journalist in his review for the publication.
3. Nicola Formby in The Women of Windsor
Despite the reviews, CBS gave another shot at portraying the princess with their 1992’s The Women of Windsor. This time, however, their film centred on the demise of both Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson’s marriages. The pair’s marriages were one of the nation topics of interest then, especially among the British tabloids.
Actress Nicola Formby starres as Diana alongside Jim Piddock as Charles and Sallyanne Law as Sarah. The real-life Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s separation was announced two months later.
4. Julie Cox in Princess in Love
A few months after the royal couple’s divorce was finalised, CBS released another feature based on Anna Pasternak’s biography, Princess in Love. The 1996’s special explored the princess’s affair with British Army officer James Hewitt. Prior to their illicit affair, Hewitt was her riding instructor who eventually helped her overcame her fear of riding horses.
It was reported that leading actress, Julie Cox was only signed on a few days before shooting began. In fact, the actress admitted to not reading the book, saying: “I thought I would hate it. I thought, ‘If I read it, I’ll have a hard time taking the script seriously.”
5. Genevieve O’Reilly in Diana: Last Days of a Princess
This 2007 documentary drama Diana: Last Days of a Princess revolves around her final days leading up to her death.
To achieve the film’s motive, director Richard Dale paired real news footage and interviews with scripted dramatic scenes into the movie (with artistic license). The film was timed to the 10th anniversary of her death.
6. Naomi Watts in Diana
Diana premiered in theatres in 2013 to poor reviews. From earning an 8% review to not having an American theatrical release, the film was considered a major flop at the box office. Watts had initially rejected the role due to the pressure that came with it. However, the English actress was eventually convinced, as she saw this as a challenge.
During filming, Watts expressed the personal connection she felt with the project and the princess. “There were definitely moments when I felt Diana’s presence – I dreamed about her a lot, too, and that’s a first. I kept wondering to myself: Would she have liked it? So, I found myself constantly asking for her permission to carry on.”
7. Emma Corrin in Netflix’s The Crown season 4
Of course, who can forget Emma Corrin’s spectacular performance of the princess in the fourth season of The Crown. The Netflix series detailed the romance between Diana and Charles from the earliest days. Similarly, to the previous actresses, Corrin was initially overwhelmed by the role.
“Initially I was very daunted, very much listened to the noise, heard all the voices and got quickly frustrated and quite scared about it. I thought this isn’t actually giving me anything to work with. And then it massively helped, getting the script, because as soon as I had the script in front of me, I realised, ‘Oh, okay, this is a character I’m playing. This is The Crown’s version of Diana’. I can bring a lot of what I want to this part. It made it more manageable to do the role.”
Corrin portrayal was met with great reviews, even earning her a Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination.
8. Elizabeth Debicki in Netflix’s The Crown season 5
Since Corrin is too young to play the older version of Diana, Elizabeth Debicki will take up the responsibility. The Tenet actress will star opposite Dominic West who will play Charles. The show is expected to explore the demise of the couple’s relationship in the early 1990s.
In a public statement, Debicki expressed her excitement over the role. “Princess Diana’s spirit, her words, and her actions live in the hearts of so many. It is my true privilege, and honour to be joining this masterful series, which has had me absolutely hooked from episode one.”
Kristen Stewart in the new film, Spencer. — PHOTO COURTESY OF PABLO LARRAIN
9. Kristen Stewart in Spencer
Ending our list is Kristen Stewart in the upcoming feature film. Spencer will centre around Diana’s one weekend with the royal family at Sandringham, right before she decides to part ways with Prince Charles and royal ambitions.
In a recent interview, director Pablo Larraìn, elaborated on his vision for the project.
“We decided to get into a story about identity, and around how a woman decides somehow, not to be the queen. 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.”
