Royal family: HBO releases gripping trailer for Princess Diana documentary featuring archived footage

A new documentary delving into the life of Princess Diana is coming to screens after racking up positive reviews since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival.

HBO has unveiled the trailer for “The Princess” ahead of its release on 13 August, claiming that the film provides “an intimate and immersive look” into the life of the Princess of Wales using archived news clips and footage.

The documentary comes 25 years after her tragic death in 1997.

It focuses on Diana’s life and eventual role in the Royal Family, while also highlighting the media and public’s obsession with the monarchy.

As heard in the two minute trailer, “when you put a modern person in an ancient institution…they will be destroyed.”

Although the documentary was initially shown at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, many people will be seeing it for the first time when it arrives on screens in August.

Among the scenes shown are Diana and Prince Charles’ infamous engagement video as well as her funeral.

HBO commented: “[The Princess] is a visceral submersion into Diana’s life in the constant glare of the media’s spotlight…the film unfolds as if it were in the present, allowing viewers to experience the overwhelming adoration, but also the intense scrutiny of Diana’s every move and the constant judgement of character.”

Directed by Academy Award nominee Ed Perkins, the documentary aims to bring the famous Princess back to life.

• She was born The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer on 1 July 1961 in Norfolk.
• Diana, Princess of Wales, married Charles in 1981 at St Paul’s Cathedral
• She is the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry
• The heirs announced their separation in 1992, with the Princess residing in Kensington Palace
• Princess Diana died in a car accident in Paris, aged 36.

Her childhood: Diana, Princess of Wales grew up as Lady Diana Spencer after her father inherited his Earldom.

Growing up with two elder sisters and one younger brother, Diana and her family lived in Park House, near Sandringham until her parents separated in 1967.

Lady Diana was educated at Riddlesworth Hall before studying at West Heath near Kent, where she thrived in music, dancing and domestic science.

Leaving West Heath in 1977, Lady Diana went to finishing school in Switzerland before moving to London.

Her Royal Marriage: Prince Charles and Lady Diana grew up as neighbours, with both living at Sandringham. They met one another again when the Prince of Wales was invited to a weekend at Althorp (the Spencer family home) in 1977.

The Royal engagement was announced on 24 February 1981 and the pair were married within five months at St Paul’s Cathedral, drawing in a broadcast audience of around 1,000 million people.

According to the Royal website, “the Princess was the first Englishwoman to marry an heir to the throne for 300 years.”

Prince Charles and Diana made their home at Highgrove House, Gloucestershire but had a London-based apartment in Kensington Palace also.

In their 15-year relationship, they had two children - Prince William Arthur Philip Louis in 1982 and Prince Henry (Harry) Charles Albert David in 198. They decided to separate in 1992 and finalised their divorce in 1996.

Low point: In 1992, Andrew Morton published his biography called “Diana: Her True Story.”

The tell-all book delved into Princess Diana’s eating disorder which “started the week after [Diana and Charles were] engaged and would take nearly a decade to overcome.”

Morton spoke about her bulimia, which can also be seen in the recent season of Netflix’s The Crown.

The Princess of Wales confirmed the eating disorder in a follow-up interview with the BBC.

Diana said: “I had bulimia for a number of years. And that’s like a secret disease. You inflict it upon yourself because your self-esteem is at a low ebb, and you don’t think you’re worthy or valuable.”

The same year as the BBC interview (1995) The Princess gave another interview telling of her unhappiness in her personal life and the pressures of her public role.

Her relationships: In the years following her divorce from Prince Charles, Diana was linked to a handful of men.

This included heart surgeon Hasnat Ahmad Khan, who reportedly had a two-year affair with The Princess when the royal marriage was coming to an end, from 1995 to 1997, as well as Canadian singer Bryan Adams who released a song called “Diana”.

Since the rumours, however, Adams has cleared up that they were just “great friends” in an interview with Good Morning America.

Most notably, Princess Diana was linked with Dodi Fayed, the son of an Egyptian billionaire, who would sadly die with The Princess in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

Her death: A year after the Prince and Princess of Wales finalised their divorce, Diana died after sustaining fatal injuries in a car accident in the French capital on August 31, 1997.

The Princess alongside Dodi and her driver Henri Paul, died after Paul crashed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris, France.

Paul reportedly was three times over the French legal alcohol limit and was speeding away from paparazzi when the accident happened.

Many tributes have been created for the late Princess including a statue which was unveiled by Prince William and Prince Harry last year to commemorate their mother who on that day, would have been turning 60.