Your first look at Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana is here.
Filming has begun on Spencer, director Pablo Larraín’s upcoming film that is entirely set over one weekend in the Princess of Wales’ life before she decides to leave her marriage to Prince Charles. And to mark this production milestone, Shoebox Films has released an image from the film, showing Stewart glancing out the window in full costume.
The window in question is presumably one at the Royal Family’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, where the film is set during Christmas holiday. The film was written by Peaky Blinders‘ Steven Knight. Here’s the schpiel, according to a press statement:
“December, 1991: The Prince and Princess of Wales’ marriage has long since grown cold. Though rumours of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at Sandringham Estate. There’s eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game. This year, things will be a whole lot different.”
Lady Diana Spencer joined the royal house of Windsor when she married Prince Charles on July 29, 1981. The pair officially divorced in August 1996, after four years of separation — see: The Crown for more on the lead-up to this. During this time they continued their royal duties as Prince and Princess of Wales. They had two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, 14 and 11 at the time.
“Spencer is a dive inside an emotional imagining of who Diana was at a pivotal turning point in her life,” said Stewart in a press statement. “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.”
Here’s the whole photo.
Image: shoebox films
Stewart will play Princess Diana alongside fellow cast members Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins, and Sean Harris. Director of photography Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), and Oscar-winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran (Little Women) are on board, and Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood is composing the original score.
Spencer is anticipated to launch in autumn 2021, ahead of the 25th anniversary of Diana’s death in 2022. Diana was killed on Aug. 31, 1997, in a car accident in Paris.
The image is especially exciting to fans of The Crown, who’ve recently enjoyed an entire season introducing a young Diana, played by a rollerskatin’ Emma Corrin. Elizabeth Debicki will take on the role for Seasons 5 and 6. Here’s hoping for a few more iconic Diana outfits.