Popsugar Entertainment shares 5 chilling points from Sundance’s Princess Diana Documentary which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival
After 25 years of her fatal car crash, Princess Diana’s life story is being told once again in a documentary directed by Ed Perkins, The Princess — which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival — employs past interviews and news footage to narrate key junctures in Diana’s public life, including her highly broadcasted divorce from Prince Charles and her fatal 1997 car accident in Paris. The documentary is made without any explanations or talking heads, letting viewers see Diana’s life play out on screen just like the world did at the time. In using this “immersive approach,” Perkins seeks to reframe Diana’s story and “offer something new to the conversation we are still having about Diana all these years later.”
Some Stunning Flashbacks of Her Life
Diana and Charles stayed at the residence of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and her former husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, prior to their wedding. Ahead of their July 1981 nuptials, Diana and Charles joined Camilla and Andrew at their Wiltshire home on two separate occasions. A few years later, it was reported that Charles and Camilla were having an affair.
Charles went to play polo less than one hour after he and Diana returned from the hospital with Prince Harry following his birth. “He has always carried on, ever since he got married as if he were a bachelor,” one reporter said. “He’s made absolutely no concession, and he never did, almost no concession at all to being a married man with the responsibilities of a wife and now two children.”
Charles became jealous of the public attention Diana received after their wedding. One reporter cited that Charles realized he was taking “second place” to Diana. “He knows it’s the princess people have come to see,” the reporter said. Charles stated once in a joke about needing two wives during one of their royal engagements. “I’ve come to the conclusion that really it would have been far easier to have two wives to have covered both sides of the street,” he said. “I could’ve walked down the middle directing the operation.”
Diana on the other hand was felt that her role was to support Charles by encouraging him and being his wife and mother to his children.
Diana was called a “monster” for wanting to lead a more private life. Similar to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Diana announced her withdrawal from public life during a charity luncheon in December 1993. “When I started my public life 12 years ago, I understood that the media might be interested in what I did. I realized then that their attention would inevitably focus on both our private and public lives. But I was not aware of how overwhelming that attention would become, nor the extent to which it would affect both my public duties and my personal life,” Diana said in her speech. “When I’ve completed my diary of official engagements, I will be reducing the extent of the public life I’ve led so far.” Many criticized her decision to step back, with one reporter saying it would have “untold damage to the royal family and the institution of the monarchy.”
The British public was upset with Queen Elizabeth II for taking so long to address Diana’s death. When news broke that Diana had died in a car accident in August 1997, the queen received major criticism for waiting five days to publicly address Diana’s death. She was also condemned for not returning quickly enough to London and failing to appear at tributes near Buckingham Palace. One woman said, “Our queen should be here in London with her people. This is her nation, and they should know how all her people feel about Diana.”
About Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales—the heir apparent to the British throne—and mother of Prince William and Prince Harry. Diana’s public social good works, beauty, and charm made her a popular international icon gaining her ongoing fame as well as exceptional public scrutiny, heightened by her stormy private life, unhappy marriage, rumored affair, and love for Hasnat Khan, a 36-year-old Pakistani heart surgeon, perhaps knowing she was unloved by Prince Charles and searching for love, she got involved with the doctor.
Diana was born into the British nobility and grew up close to the royal family on their Sandringham estate. In 1981, while working as a nursery teacher’s assistant, she became engaged to Prince Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. Their wedding took place at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1981 and made her Princess of Wales, a role in which she was exuberantly welcomed by the British public. They had two sons, William and Harry, who were then second and third in the line of succession to the British throne. Diana’s marriage to Charles suffered due to their incompatibility and extramarital affairs. They separated in 1992, soon after the breakdown of their relationship became public knowledge. Their marital difficulties became increasingly publicized, and they divorced in 1996.
As Princess of Wales, Diana launched royal duties on behalf of the Queen and represented her at functions across the Commonwealth realms. She was celebrated in the media for her unconventional approach to charity work. Her patronages initially centered on children and the elderly but she later became known for her involvement in two particular campaigns, that involving the social attitudes towards and the acceptance of AIDS patients, and the campaign promoted through the International Red Cross for the removal of landmines.
She also raised awareness and advocated ways to help people affected with cancer and mental illness. The Princess was initially noted for her shyness, but her captivating smile stole the hearts of the public her reputation giving her tremendous support helping her to tide over the ravages of brokenness in her marriage and personal life.
Considered to be very photogenic, she was a leader of fashion in the 1980s and 1990s. Diana’s death in a car crash in Paris led to global mourning as she became an icon over the world Her legacy has had a deep impact on the royal family and British society and no one can forget her after 25 years of her death. Her memory lives strong.