Principal photography has begun on Princess Diana biopic, ‘Spencer’.

The Pablo Larraín-helmed feature has officially begun filming, with a first-look image of leading actress Kristen Stewart in her role as the late Princess of Wales – who was known as Lady Diana Spencer before marrying Prince Charles – released on Wednesday (27.01.21).

The image shows Kristen dressed in black and a striking red coat, with her hair style in the short blonde bob that the late royal – who died in a car crash in 1997 – was known for.

In a press release, Kristen said of the film: “’Spencer’ is a dive inside an emotional imagining of who Diana was at a pivotal turning point in her life. 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.”

Alongside Kristen, Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins, and Sean Harris also star.

‘Spencer’ will focus on one weekend in the life of Princess Diana, as she spends the Christmas holiday with the royal family at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, and decides to leave her marriage to Prince Charles.

The film was written by Steven Knight, and is being produced by Juan de Dios Larraín for Fabula Films, Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski for Komplizen Film, and Paul Webster for Shoebox Films.

The producers said in a joint statement: “We are extremely grateful for the support of our distributors worldwide, our partners and funders who have shown tremendous commitment to us in these extraordinary times.

“With Kristen Stewart, Steven Knight and the rest of our fantastic team both in front and behind the camera we are bringing ‘Spencer’ to the world. It is an independently produced film made for the big screen about an iconic woman’s own declaration of independence. We couldn’t be more excited!”

Executive producers are Tom Quinn, Jeff Deutchman and Christina Zisa for NEON and Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman and Ryan Heller for Topic Studios.