While royal devotees are impatiently waiting to see Emma Corrin’s turn as Diana, Princess of Wales in The Crown season four, she’s no longer the only actor set to transform into the People’s Princess on screen. As reported by Deadline, Pablo Larraín is confirmed to direct Kristen Stewart in Spencer, an understated drama set in the early ’90s at the exact point when Diana realised that her marriage had failed – ultimately leading her to file for divorce. The film will take place over the Christmas holidays at Sandringham, and will likely be similar in tone to Larraín’s critically acclaimed biopics, Jackie and Neruda.

“We decided to get into a story about identity, and around how a woman decides, somehow, not to be the queen,” Larraín told Deadline of the script, which has been written by Peaky Blinders’s Steven Knight. “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. It’s about finding herself, about understanding that possibly the most important thing for her is to be well, and to be with herself and by herself.”

With that in mind, Larraín chose to title the movie Spencer, in honour of Diana’s maiden name. He also confirmed that the film will be set over just three days – Christmas Eve, Christmas, and Boxing Day – “around 1992, we’re not specific”. As for his decision to cast Stewart? “Kristen can be many things, and she can be very mysterious and very fragile and ultimately very strong as well, which is what we need,” he explained. “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.”

Previously published on British Vogue