Kristen Stewart felt like Princess Diana gave her ‘the sign off’ to play her

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess Diana is still one of the most talked about royals, with everything from her iconic style moments to her determination to be human during her life still making news.

This past year, it has been a new film about the Princess of Wales that has made headlines, with the upcoming biopic, Spencer, set to detail a weekend in the iconic royal’s life - in particular, when Diana decided that her marriage to Prince Charles wasn't making her happy.

Twilight actress Kristen Stewart was announced to be playing Princess Diana, and the internet has since gone wild at the emergence of the teaser photographs, with Stewart's resemblance to the beloved Royal being uncanny.

A photo posted by on

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival this week ahead of Spencer's world premiere, Kristen Stewart opened up about what it was like playing Princess Diana, and her words have of course gone viral.

'I took more pleasure in my physicality making this movie than I have on anything,' Kristen explained. 'I felt more free and alive and able to move — and taller, even.'

The actress then went on to speak to the LA Times, opening up about how she felt the late Princess of Wales' presence when filming.

'I felt some spooky, spiritual feelings making this movie,' she recalled. 'Even if I was just fantasising. I felt like there were moments where I kind of got the sign-off. It’s scary to tell a story about someone who’s not alive anymore and who already felt so invaded. I never wanted to feel like we were invading anything, just that we were kind of adding to the multiplicity of a beautiful thing.'

She continued: 'She felt so alive to me when I was making this movie, even if it’s all between the ears and it was just a fantasy of mine. But there were moments where my body and mind would forget she was dead. And suddenly, I would just have an image of what happened. And remember who she left behind. And I was amazed by the renewed emotion. Every single time. Maybe two or three times a week, I would just fully break down about the fact that she had died. I just could not come to terms with it, because I was fighting to keep her alive every single day.'

Spencer is set for release on November 5 2021.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.