The more we watch movies, series and documentaries about Lady Di the more we realize the abusive relationship and the toxic male that Charles has always been, cowardly, selfish, ugly, poor in spirit, stingy, poor Ladi, and alienates parentally by both families who should support her... Excellent documentary, practically only with lines from the Princess herself...
21 Reviews
Trading Happiness for Destiny
T_Boone_Pickens_Esq23 April 2019
This is a great food-for-thought documentary. I can't promise you'll side with Diana or not, it leaves you to build your own opinion.
What struck me was that Diana knew what she was getting into, but marched inexorably forward as if she was powerlessly drawn to a destiny she'd chosen for herself as a child.
There's a compelling inevitability to the whole thing that reflects our own lives, and our own choices, back at us. How many times have you known that a certain course of action will bring you pain and suffering, and yet you continue down the path without heeding your better instincts? Perhaps that's the compelling factor in Diana's story.
What struck me was that Diana knew what she was getting into, but marched inexorably forward as if she was powerlessly drawn to a destiny she'd chosen for herself as a child.
There's a compelling inevitability to the whole thing that reflects our own lives, and our own choices, back at us. How many times have you known that a certain course of action will bring you pain and suffering, and yet you continue down the path without heeding your better instincts? Perhaps that's the compelling factor in Diana's story.
Diana, the human princess
ala-4947822 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I say human because so much of what Diana felt as a young woman is something many of us relate too but I can't imagine going through it with eyes constantly watching you.
Possible spoilers
Your first love who is cheating on you and clearly treats you like an object. An eating disorder to cope etc Insomnia, depression, meds etc...all these things that you would not imagine being the life of a princess as these are issues "normal" people deal with... but in private.
Then No one listening to her concerns of paparazzi from the very beginning. This poor woman was seriously a sacrificial lamb! I know there's 2 sides to each story but Prince Charles and Camilla are rotten people for torturing Diana so long... remember she was a lot younger and naive when they met. I love her !
Possible spoilers
Your first love who is cheating on you and clearly treats you like an object. An eating disorder to cope etc Insomnia, depression, meds etc...all these things that you would not imagine being the life of a princess as these are issues "normal" people deal with... but in private.
Then No one listening to her concerns of paparazzi from the very beginning. This poor woman was seriously a sacrificial lamb! I know there's 2 sides to each story but Prince Charles and Camilla are rotten people for torturing Diana so long... remember she was a lot younger and naive when they met. I love her !
If you only watch one Diana documentary, this should be the one!
howyoodoon4 September 2017
With the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's untimely death, there was a spate of documentaries from around the world, most especially from The UK and The U.S. Some were as long as four hours long (ABC), others which tried to tell her utterly complex tale in an hour or less. But this particular documentary (which aired on Channel 4 in The UK, and on the NatGeo Channel in The U.S.) is the best and most intimate look into the mind of this compellingly fascinating woman. It relies heavily on the audio tapes from Diana's secret interviews for her secretly self-authorized "autobiography" (though at the time of the book's release, it was much-denied that she had anything to do with the book). Hearing Diana speak of the horrendous world she'd been sucked into, it's easy to see how a weaker person than her would have crumbled under the pressures of living under a paparazzi microscope--trapped in a loveless marriage in which Prince Charles (who comes off as a first-rate cad who did no less than trick Diana into being his "broodmare," to carry on the royal lineage. One almost feels as if Diana is speaking from the grave--and her revelations are sometimes shockingly intimate. This documentary also relies on a voice actress, to recreate some of Diana's own words--a device that can sometimes tarnish a documentary. But in this case, Heather Long captures Diana's speech patterns and accent to a "T"...sometimes, it's hard to tell actually "who" is speaking, she's that good. The research, editing, writing...this is a first-rate look at "the woman" rather than "the phenomenon". It would be hard to imagine a more incisive, respectful and honest portrayal of this complicated, sometimes perplexing woman. For admirers of the late Princess, it is satisfying to see that she is finally being reassessed and being given her due for changing the British Royal Family--seemingly, forever. EXCELLENT DOCUMENTARY!
The jewel that was Diana.
estelle5820 November 2020
This documentary brought me right back to the night of August 31st, 1997, when the news came of her car accident, and death soon after. So naturally, I had tears in my eyes throughout this.
It was fascinating and heartbreaking to hear her beautiful voice telling her life story. This documentary is very well done. If you are or were intrigued with the beautiful princess, I highly recommend this wonderful film.
It was fascinating and heartbreaking to hear her beautiful voice telling her life story. This documentary is very well done. If you are or were intrigued with the beautiful princess, I highly recommend this wonderful film.
Diana - humanitarian, mother, incredibly fragile and thoughtful...
RomanceNovelist30 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This documentary offers a very raw look at how infidelity can hurt a person to the point of devastation. Told in her own sweet, barely audible voice, Princess Diana narrates her life and marriage to Prince Charles, and the breakdown of their marriage. She was an introvert, and such a sad person for most of her life. Diana was also an introvert, and very fragile, which I think that bothered Prince Charles, who comes across as an abrasive, detached sort of man. Except, where his mistress Camilla is concerned. Prince Charles, from even before their marriage was in love with another woman and carried on with that woman throughout their marriage, and it destroyed Diana. As she said, "There were three people in this marriage." Very sad story. Very brave woman.
Honest exploration of a legend
graham-harvey7 December 2020
Diana, princess of hearts
mailsoph19 May 2019
We all know her story, from her royal wedding to Prince Charles to that fateful night in 1997 when she and her lover died in a car accident. But this very aptly titled documentary tells her life in her own words, based on the recorded interviews she gave one of her closest friends in order for Andrew Morton to write his best-seller : Diana, here true story.
It is so sad to hear her voice, to hear about the terrible ordeals she's been through, to see those pictures with her kids. The ending made me cry, watching William and Harry walk alongside their father and grandfather behind their Mummy's coffin... This documentary is heartbreaking, from the first second to the last.
She was such an extraordinary human being...
Portrait of an Afflicted, Unhappy Person
michaelr-0721730 November 2020
I never knew how self-obsessed and mentally ill Diana had been. For that insight, I suppose the film was worthwhile. It did not leave me feeling any great sympathy nor empathy for her. It was a terrible shame that she lived with her deep mental illness and never found real happiness.
Such a tragic tale
kate_buckley24 November 2020
Diana really was the people's princess. She showed a human side lacking in the rest of the royal family. This documentary is well made and excellent because it gives us Diana's side of the story in her own words. If you only watch one Diana documentary it should be this one.
The People's Princess
DVK12346 December 2020
This documentary solidifies what I read in Andrew Morton's book many years ago. One wonders Diana's motivation for bringing out into the public all the intricacies of her private life. I imagine she felt completely alone, and I learned from the film that many in the monarchy blamed her for her failed marriage. This was a way for Diana to be heard. It really does make me look at Charles and the Queen as completely unaware, selfish people who completely disregarded (or didn't care) that Charles was marrying a child who may have needed more time and care to grow into her role as princess. He was too busy swanning off to his lover, Camilla.
In time, Diana was able to find her role in the monarchy: the People's princess. She seemed to have a genuine concern for the downtrodden, the marginalized. She related to them. So sorry that she left us so soon.
In time, Diana was able to find her role in the monarchy: the People's princess. She seemed to have a genuine concern for the downtrodden, the marginalized. She related to them. So sorry that she left us so soon.
With her voice
tesi-6827429 November 2020
A fascinating human interest portrait to be taken for what it is
n-mo21 November 2017
A lot of controversy raged about this documentary, which some critics dismissed offhand as "trashy." I wouldn't agree completely, though I must say that while I did thoroughly enjoy watching it I came away wondering whether I ought to be slightly ashamed of myself for having done so.
For one thing, the general unfolding of Lady Diana's tragic story is hardly news to anyone who knows anything about the royal family, and most of the "revelations" come in the form of details that aren't really surprising - indeed, one has the impression most of them were already suspected or speculated on, anyway. Overall the narrative fits pretty nicely into the large canon of work that suggests Diana was a lightning rod for the monarchy in the modern world: an older and a newer way of thinking came into a rather sudden and dramatic clash. I suppose it was bound to happen somewhere, though perhaps it needn't necessarily have happened to the British royal family. The much-vaunted "modernization of the monarchy" was probably inevitable, but having Diana's own perspective from the center of the storm makes for a fascinating piece of sociology and psychology.
It would however be important not to take this as the final objective word. The source material was produced as part of Peter Settelen's attempts to improve Diana's public speaking abilities by drawing out her "real self," and what comes out is that her time as a princess was for her a huge play in which she had been sadly miscast. To take Diana's word for it, she had felt this almost from the start. Perhaps that's true, though one should remember that at that moment she was just, just trying to come out of her own. It is clear enough that she was unhappy during much or most of her marriage to Charles, a proposition corroborated by plenty of outside evidence, and that she was still working through this unhappiness at the time of the recording. The perspectives and criticisms should thus not be taken at 100% face value, by themselves: they are one point of view which deserves to be digested and taken seriously without rushing to value judgments.
That said, one can certainly call into question whether we were actually meant to have this point of view. Given the criticisms Diana offers in private of her husband, her in-laws and her parents, she suddenly appears a lot more discreet and restrained than I had previously given her credit for. I don't think this documentary makes her look bad - rather the opposite, in fact - but I was not convinced by Settelen's explanations of his motivations for first wresting these tapes - at what appears to have been great trouble and expense - from Diana's bereaved relations and then selling them to be broadcast. Settelen clearly considers himself to have done a great service to Diana and by extension to the world that so came to appreciate her, and he wants to be recognized for it. That narrative is plausible enough, but again, it's Settelen's perspective, and he definitely has more of a tangible interest - as he himself seems to acknowledge and justify - in propagating it than Diana ever did in saying anything critical of her husband or of the Queen. If my opinion of Diana went up, my opinion of Settelen definitely went down over the course of this viewing.
I am torn, then, between gratefulness to Settelen for sharing us this great portrait and appallment that he would broadcast what was clearly understood to be a private moment without permission, permission which I doubt Diana ever would have given. She always thought about her sons, and she knew one or both of them would eventually reign, after having to see their father through his own reign. Nevertheless, the cat is out of the bag, though arguably it has been for quite some time. The British monarchy has proved itself remarkably resilient and capable of rebounding. This fascinating portrait is but a few brushstrokes in that imagination- staggering history. Cheers!
For one thing, the general unfolding of Lady Diana's tragic story is hardly news to anyone who knows anything about the royal family, and most of the "revelations" come in the form of details that aren't really surprising - indeed, one has the impression most of them were already suspected or speculated on, anyway. Overall the narrative fits pretty nicely into the large canon of work that suggests Diana was a lightning rod for the monarchy in the modern world: an older and a newer way of thinking came into a rather sudden and dramatic clash. I suppose it was bound to happen somewhere, though perhaps it needn't necessarily have happened to the British royal family. The much-vaunted "modernization of the monarchy" was probably inevitable, but having Diana's own perspective from the center of the storm makes for a fascinating piece of sociology and psychology.
It would however be important not to take this as the final objective word. The source material was produced as part of Peter Settelen's attempts to improve Diana's public speaking abilities by drawing out her "real self," and what comes out is that her time as a princess was for her a huge play in which she had been sadly miscast. To take Diana's word for it, she had felt this almost from the start. Perhaps that's true, though one should remember that at that moment she was just, just trying to come out of her own. It is clear enough that she was unhappy during much or most of her marriage to Charles, a proposition corroborated by plenty of outside evidence, and that she was still working through this unhappiness at the time of the recording. The perspectives and criticisms should thus not be taken at 100% face value, by themselves: they are one point of view which deserves to be digested and taken seriously without rushing to value judgments.
That said, one can certainly call into question whether we were actually meant to have this point of view. Given the criticisms Diana offers in private of her husband, her in-laws and her parents, she suddenly appears a lot more discreet and restrained than I had previously given her credit for. I don't think this documentary makes her look bad - rather the opposite, in fact - but I was not convinced by Settelen's explanations of his motivations for first wresting these tapes - at what appears to have been great trouble and expense - from Diana's bereaved relations and then selling them to be broadcast. Settelen clearly considers himself to have done a great service to Diana and by extension to the world that so came to appreciate her, and he wants to be recognized for it. That narrative is plausible enough, but again, it's Settelen's perspective, and he definitely has more of a tangible interest - as he himself seems to acknowledge and justify - in propagating it than Diana ever did in saying anything critical of her husband or of the Queen. If my opinion of Diana went up, my opinion of Settelen definitely went down over the course of this viewing.
I am torn, then, between gratefulness to Settelen for sharing us this great portrait and appallment that he would broadcast what was clearly understood to be a private moment without permission, permission which I doubt Diana ever would have given. She always thought about her sons, and she knew one or both of them would eventually reign, after having to see their father through his own reign. Nevertheless, the cat is out of the bag, though arguably it has been for quite some time. The British monarchy has proved itself remarkably resilient and capable of rebounding. This fascinating portrait is but a few brushstrokes in that imagination- staggering history. Cheers!
The Truth
Erik_Stone22 November 2020
Finding out that Diana was the epitome of a pouty, immature, spoiled, mentally unstable, young girl, was a fun experience for me.
When she died, I had no idea who she was. To me, she was just another, ugly, rich person. I wondered why people found her so fascinating and why people cared about her death.
Seeing, "The Crown," season 4 and this documentary was eye opening.
This movie is well done and it's brilliant to be able to hear someone who is honest in their opinions . . . this is really why Princess Di was loved by so many.
Most of us are not best suited for any particular life, but we adapt. It's great to hear and see that "having everything," doesn't always mean what you think it means.
When she died, I had no idea who she was. To me, she was just another, ugly, rich person. I wondered why people found her so fascinating and why people cared about her death.
Seeing, "The Crown," season 4 and this documentary was eye opening.
This movie is well done and it's brilliant to be able to hear someone who is honest in their opinions . . . this is really why Princess Di was loved by so many.
Most of us are not best suited for any particular life, but we adapt. It's great to hear and see that "having everything," doesn't always mean what you think it means.
What a loss
pcampionz5 December 2020
First off, why does it seem like the Brits were hit with an ugly stick? and what is it with Britain, are there no dentists in England? Anywho, Prince Charles was, and is, a complete Putz. You can tell there was no love between these two or chemistry for that matter. Diana was Such a humble human being.
Powerful and Timely
duckonthedam6 December 2020
I was 16 when Diana was married, too young to appreciate just how very young she was also. Revisiting her story really tugs at your heart, and coming hot off the heels from watching The Crown just reaffirms why Charles should never be King. I believe William and Kate are currently the only decent ones capable of taking over when HM shuffles off.
Amazing lady
stephaniereyes-8095027 December 2020
I was 6 years old when Princess Diana passed away but my mom tells me all the time about the day she passed and how much she admired her , this documentary had me in tears and it explains so much about her kids .. wonderful woman with a tragic ending .
Her side of the story
bethjazotte24 November 2020
"Lady Di: suas últimas palavras" . Para quem, como eu, nunca, jamais se cansa de ouvir as histórias sobre a família real britânica e sobre a inesquecível princesa de todos nós. For those who, like me, never tire of hearing stories about the British royal family and the unforgettable princess of us all.#netflix
Even if a bit ripetitive it's impossible not to be moved by this deeply intimate documentary
tmpsvita30 December 2020
A bit ripetitive as the editing follows Diana's words adding nothing more than archive images and video cut and glue together always in a simplistic, canonical way but at the same time it gives us a complete, exhaustive and precious look at her story, through her point of view, from which it's impossible not to be hooked and moved by, even if you're not familiar with this matters or usually you're not interested in.
5.0 out of 5 stars The Inspiring & Heartbreaking Tale of a True Queen in the Making!
kgrizzaffe2 November 2023
I've always loved anything to do with the British Royal & I've always had an interest in them. When a friend of mine had recommended this documentary to me, I jumped on it immediately. I watched this documentary with my dad & to say both of us shed tears by the end of the documentary, it was truly heartbreaking to hear her side of the story. This is the 2nd royal family documentary I have watched along with the home documentary Prince Charles made for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II for her 90th birthday! Both documentaries are worth watching, especially Diana's! I recommend this documentary for everyone!
Her own words, yes, but not necessarily her emotions at the time
bettycjung19 December 2017
12/17/17. It was good to actually hear Diana speak the words included in this documentary. But, to pull this off required good editing to piece together all the various events, etc. In most instances, it was very choppy since there wasn't any narration to provide continuity. At least it was sequential. As is typical of those who die young (Diane died at 36), the tragedy of premature death glosses over some of the nastier aspects of her life. Yes. Charles cheated on her, but for her to go tit for tat does not make it right. Despite a marriage doomed to fail, it's wonderful to have 2 sons who are much more responsible than their parents to remind us that it is possible not to make the same mistakes as your parents.
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