Kristen Stewart Reveals She’s Still ‘Haunted’ by Princess Diana Years After Playing Her on Screen

Kristen Stewart, who played Princess Diana in the 2021 historical drama film Spencer, feels particularly close to the late royal.

In an interview with The Telegraph published Thursday, February 5, the 35-year-old actress told the publication that she felt “haunted” by the Princess of Wales, who tragically died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997 at age 36 while her driver was fleeing the paparazzi.

“I still am,” Stewart said. “I can’t drive round this city, and Paris for that matter, without thinking about her.”

“All the love that poured out of this woman… I can cry about her at any moment,” she added.

The Academy Award nominee revealed that she initially thought director Pablo Larraín was “insane” for casting her in the role and thought “he should probably hire someone else, but he refused to accept that.”

While the Twilight alum pointed out physical differences between herself and King Charles III’s ex-wife, she said Larraín told her, “You really must detach from those things — this is about spirit.”

Stewart acknowledged that there was some “overlap in terms of our experience,” explaining: “She was plucked, plucked to death [by paparazzi]. And her rebellious qualities felt so desperate, and so young and so vulnerable.”

By the end of Stewart’s experience filming the movie, “I did feel a bit like a shell,” she said, “and I think she did too. That was the point.”

The film — set during Christmas of 1991, when Diana considered divorcing Charles and leaving the British royal family — also starred Jack Farthing as Charles with Jack Neilen and Freddie Spry as Prince William and Prince Harry, respectively.

Stewart was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Diana.