Kristen Stewart has opened up about Princess Diana’s close bond with her sons

(Image credit: UK Press via 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.

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Kristen Stewart is stepping into Princess Diana's iconic shoes and by all accounts, it's the performance of a lifetime, with her words about playing the People's Princess unsurprisingly going viral.

'I took more pleasure in my physicality making this movie than I have on anything,' Kristen explained earlier this year at the Venice Film Festival this week ahead of Spencer's world premiere. '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.'

This week, Kristen Stewart also opened up about Princess Diana's close bond with her two sons, explaining that it was a very important part of her performance.

When asked what part she was most nervous about getting right when it came to playing Diana, Stewart replied: 'Probably in the area that requires zero preparation and complete trust and like soul, which is the relationship that she has with her children.'

She continued: 'You know, obviously, we like hung out and tried to get [close] before we actually did the thing and did the scenes, but the whole thing about watching her within that space, when her children are close to her, they are ... it's a nucleus, it's a three-headed animal, sort of unstoppable beast thing.'

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.