DIANA WAS EXPLOITED BY US ALL. POWERFUL NEW DOCUMENTARY ON SKY 14 AUGUST 9PM (UK)

DIANA WAS EXPLOITED BY US ALL. POWERFUL NEW DOCUMENTARY THE PRINCESS AIRS ON SKY DOCUMENTARIES ON 14TH AUGUST AT 9PM.?Richard Fitzwilliams, royal commentator and film critic is available on 07939602749 www.richardfitzwilliams.com @RFitzwilliams?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

The Princess of Wales has a special place in our nation’s iconography. Her personal life was deeply unhappy, yet she became the world’s most glamorous woman, an iconic figure whose charitable achievements in her short life were truly unique. The outpouring of public grief at her untimely death was unprecedented, for a while the monarchy itself seemed imperilled. This remarkable film marks 25 years since her tragic death this month.

This tells her story from her ill-fated marriage to her untimely death, but without a narrator which is ingenious. We see carefully chosen footage to illustrate her story, the voices we hear are royal commentators or members of the public reacting to events.

As a royal commentator myself, I was riveted. The choice of footage is fascinating too. Charles comes across as callous and the royal family as uncaring. The finger of guilt also points at us, as though Diana was a commodity we all wanted a part of, through a rapacious media. The paparazzi were lower than vermin in pursuing their prey and this ultimately led to tragedy.

However, anyone seeing it, who is unaware of the background to the momentous events it depicts, will almost certainly find parts of it confusing. This has its dangers. At the Q & A afterwards the director, Ed Perkins, admitted, in reply to my question after the preview in June, that this meant that the clips from Diana’s Panorama interview could not be contextualised. There was therefore no mention of the presenter Martin Bashir’s dishonesty in obtaining it or of the BBC’s shameful subsequent cover-up.

Diana is a legendary figure. This is a film primarily for those who already know something about her. It will hopefully lead to others, who are unacquainted with her remarkable life, which was full of contradictions, wanting to discover more.

4 stars out of 5.