25 Years Later: Princess Diana Lives On

 

As today marks the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana's death we decided to revisit a movie from TheArchive, a timely piece of nostalgia, Princess in Love. It aired only one year before Princess Di’s untimely death.

Recounting the true-life story of the rollercoaster love affair between Captain James Hewitt and Lady Diana Spencer, Princess in Love suggests that this relationship “destroyed a royal marriage and stunned the British monarchy.” Today we know that the Royals, still an obsessive figment of media attention and global fandom, and no less a tough lot, remain an insulated family but one no longer immune to the demands for parity from an evolving culture relentlessly pursuing an equitable set of mores. 

A subdued and gentle Lady Di is played by Julie Cox in a role - while quite outmatched by the indomitable doppelgänger that is Elizabeth Debicki in Netflix’s The Crown - that still exemplifies Diana’s real life sublimation and pulls on one’s heartstrings despite how often we revisit this story.

Christopher Bowen plays a watered down Charles as the passive aggressive man-child one would expect. The two have no chemistry on camera as should be the case when juxtaposed to Diana’s obsession with Captain Hewitt - for whom she clearly had passion and deep connection.

 

There are several tender moments through the 1996 TV movie that feature Diana warmly interacting with her boys, Prince Harry and Prince William, in ways that foreshadow, especially with Harry, his deep devotion to a mother who shaped the bold and determined man he is today.

Unfortunately today, the brothers are still at odds since Harry stepped back from his royal duties. In fact, the two princes and their families will mourn the passing separately, as the 20th anniversary of their mother’s death marked the last time they publicly acknowledged her passing.

Princess in Love was directed by TV movie juggernaut and ‘Rich Man Poor Man’s' David Greene, widely known for having seven wives, the last of which hadn’t lasted a week before his untimely death, less than ten years after filming this movie and just miles from where Oprah interviewed Diana’s son Harry and Meghan Markle last year.  

 

Princess in Love certainly feels pro-Royal because the underlying book it was based on was written by Anna Pasternak, an outspoken critic of Markle. This film took the position that somehow Diana may have been the primary cause of the unprecedented Royal divorce. And yet Princess in Love demonstrates the power of a woman without any power, unlike Markle who has shown the world she’s not messing around.  

And while Princess Diana did not take on the Crown in such overt fashion, her death was not in vain as it demonstrated that a true woman of power will see that power live on long after she is gone.

Stream Princess in Love free on TheArchive now....

           

     

TheArchive channel is dedicated to aficionados and lovers of story, craft, and silver screen fun – streaming rare, retro, and 4K restored films and classic TV. From indies and series, to Oscar winning documentaries, unearthed MOWs, and a killer horror library, TheArchive delivers forgotten, never-before-seen gems for free. Marilyn, Karloff, and Orson Welles stream alongside Reese, Keanu, and Samuel L. Jackson. Find true stories of Queen, Hendrix, and Sinatra, an LGBTQ library, MLK bios, and world history docs. TheArchive has the movies and shows you either saw, should’ve seen, or should be watching now!