HBO’s set an August 13, 2022 premiere for The Princess, an HBO Original documentary about the incredible, tragically short life of Princess Diana. The documentary from Oscar-nominated director Ed Perkins (Best Documentary Short Subject, Black Sheep) is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the People’s Princess’ death.
The Princess sits at 81% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes following its premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Rolling Stone’s David Fear’s review praises director Ed Perkin’s decision to only use archival footage. Fear calls it “a stroke of genius, a jujitsu finishing move on her tormentors.” And Little White Lies’ Saskia Lloyd Gaiger says this of Perkin’s documentary: “A sense of the era, when paparazzi were particularly hungry and the monarchy was losing its mojo, is viscerally evoked with neither nostalgia nor scorn.”
Lightbox, Oscar winner Simon Chinn (Man on Wire), and Emmy winner Jonathan Chinn (LA 92, American High) produced, with Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller executive producing.
HBO’s official description:
“The relationship of Diana and Charles, the Prince and Princess of Wales, was tabloid fodder for nearly two decades, the subject of almost daily headlines in the 24-hour news cycle. The Princess draws solely from contemporaneous archival audio and video footage to take audiences back to key events in Diana’s life as they happened, including their seemingly fairy-tale public courtship and wedding, the birth of their two sons, their bitter divorce, and Diana’s tragic and untimely death on August 31, 1997.
Intensely emotional, The Princess is a visceral submersion into Diana’s life in the constant and often intrusive glare of the media spotlight. The film unfolds as if it were in the present, allowing viewers to experience the overwhelming adoration, but also intense scrutiny of Diana’s every move and the constant judgement of her character. Through archival material, the film is also a reflection of society at the time, revealing the public’s own preoccupations, fears, aspirations, and desires.
Princess Diana’s tragic death, caused in part by a high-speed pursuit by paparazzi, was a moment for reflection by both the public and the media machine it feeds. However, after nearly 25 years since Princess Diana’s death, has anything really changed?”
