Royal experts slam new Diana film Spencer

Royal experts have slammed the new Diana film Spencer starring Kristen Stewart saying it strips the late princess of her ‘respect and dignity’ and is ‘unnecessarily gratuitous’.

Scenes in the film show Diana – who died in a car crash at the age of 36 – breaking down in tears in front of her son Prince William as she battles her eating disorder and self harms.

In particularly distressing scenes from the new movie an emotional Diana fantasises about throwing herself down the stairs and choking on a pearl necklace gifted to her by husband Prince Charles.

Other parts of the film detail her bulimia as she vomits and even experiences hallucinations about her own death.  

Ingrid Seward, editor in chief of Majesty Magazine, told The Sun of the film: ‘It is really cruel to portray her like this. It is totally unnecessary.

‘William and Harry will be very angry and hurt about this. They will find it horrible that their mother is being portrayed in such a huge movie this way.’

Royal biographer and expert Penny Junor agreed, and said: ‘It is unnecessarily gratuitous. Poor William is all I can say, and let’s leave Diana with a shred of respect and dignity.

Tough: Scenes in the film show the late Princess – who died in a car crash at the age of 36 – breaking down in tears in front of her son Prince William as she battles her eating disorder and self harms.

‘I know William was there when she was unhappy but it sounds to me the movie is factually incorrect.’

In another scene William is seen begging his mother to come down for dinner after she locks herself in her room after self harming with wire cutters.  

William screams: ‘Mummy, mummy… mummy, you said to tell you if you are being really silly. You are being really silly.’  

Upset: In particularly distressing scenes from the new movie an emotional Diana fantasises about throwing herself down the stairs and choking on a pearl necklace gifted to her by husband Prince Charles (pictured with children Harry and William)

‘Please mummy, we have to sit down before Granny. Mummy just switch off your mind. Don’t think about it until after dinner for everyone’s sake.’

Diana then exits the room with makeup streaming down her cheeks and asks her son if he saw Camilla Parker Bowles at the church on Christmas Day morning. 

It comes after last November royal experts criticised graphic scenes in The Crown which portrayed Princess Diana’s struggle with bulimia.

In one distressing sequence Emma Corrin’s Diana was shown putting her fingers down her throat to be sick following a heated argument with Prince Charles.

In another, she was seen gorging on desserts before again forcing herself to be sick in a toilet in the palace.

Tough: It comes after last November royal experts criticised graphic scenes in The Crown which portrayed Princess Diana ‘s struggle with bulimia 

And it wasn’t long before viewers took to Twitter to discuss the ‘heartbreaking’ scenes. 

‘Seeing Diana struggle with bulimia is so sad’, commented one, while a second agreed: ‘That bulimia scene was so hard to watch.’    

Some of the scenes were so graphic that viewers are given an on-screen warning at the beginning of the three episodes where her bulimia was depicted.

Royal biographers have asked whether The Crown could have treated the subject with greater sensitivity.

Writer Ingrid Seward told the Daily Mail: ‘It was a significant thing in her young life, so I think it needed to be depicted in some way. 

Real: Some of the scenes were so graphic that viewers are given an on-screen warning at the beginning of the three episodes where her bulimia was depicted (above Emma Corrin as Diana)

‘It would have been absolutely fine having her bending over the loo, but I don’t think you need quite such detail. I think it perhaps was a bit over embellished.’ 

The first trailer for Spencer was released last month, with Kristen’s take on the late Royal’s accent heard for the first time.

Set in 1991 and set for release on November 5, the short clip saw the Hollywood star roaming the grounds of Sandringham Estate at Christmas time as her marriage to Prince Charles breaks down in the wake of divorce and infidelity rumours. 

Difficult: In another scene William is seen begging his mother to come down for dinner after she locks herself in her room after self harming with wire cutters

The film’s logline reads: ‘The marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles has long since grown cold. Though rumours of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate.

‘There’s eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game. But this year, things will be profoundly different. Spencer is an imagining of what might have happened during those few fateful days.’

The script, written by English screenwriter Steven Knight, who has also written Peaky Blinders, follows the moments when Diana realises she needs to ‘veer from a path that puts her in-line to one day be Queen’. 

Director Pablo Larraín explained that the drama will not delve into Diana’s tragic death, but instead focus on her relationship with her Royal husband and the love she has for children Prince William and Prince Harry.

Glamorous: Kristen looked incredible in a strapless silver gown at the premiere for the film in London on Thursday night

The filmmaker said: ‘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.’

Following the trailer’s release, fans hailed Kristen’s performance as the late Royal and called for the actress to be given an Oscar. 

She utters just two words in the short preview, responding: ‘They don’t,’ when told the press know everything in one scene, but that was clearly enough to send fans wild.

They declared that the American star’s British accent was ‘spot on’, while her mannerisms and characterisation of the late Princess were also accurate.

When news of the film was first announced, Twitter was swarmed with people questioning Kristen’s casting in the role of Diana. 

Pablo quickly defended his decision to cast the star as the Princess of Wales, telling Deadline: ‘Kristen is one of the greatest actors around today.

‘Kristen can be many things, and she can be very mysterious and very fragile an ultimately very strong as well, which is what we need.’

‘The combination of those elements made me think of her. The way she responded to the script and how she is approaching the character, it’s very beautiful to see. I think she’s going to do something stunning and intriguing at the same time.’

Spencer is set for theatrical release on November 5. 

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Plot: The drama will not delve into Diana’s tragic death, but instead focus on her relationship with her Royal husband and the love she has for children Prince William and Prince Harry (pictured in 1980)