'The Princess' Trailer Puts Diana Spencer Back in the Spotlight

As the world approaches the 25th anniversary of the tragic and untimely death of Diana Spencer, the Princess of Wales, HBO will release a new documentary designed to paint an "intimate and immersive" portrait of the People's Princess. The documentary, simply titled, The Princess, debuted at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, but if you missed it there, we have a preview now via a new trailer, below.

Premiering Aug. 13 at 8 p.m. and available to stream on HBO Max, The Princess pulls from archival audio and video footage to tell the story as it happened, from her public courtship with and then wedding to Prince Charles, the birth of their sons, their divorce, and her death.

"Sweet, kind...the princess has been the best thing to happen to the monarchy in centuries," says the trailer, which uses archival news footage to describe Spencer.

The documentary explores both the adoration the public had for Spencer when she was alive, as well as the scrutiny she came under because of her place in the royal family, unfolding footage as if it was in the present day to put the viewer in those dueling mindsets. It also exposes how public interest turned deadly on Aug. 31, 1997 when the vehicle Spencer was riding in was pursued at high speeds by paparazzi, resulting in a fiery crash. The documentary also looks at whether there was a true moment of reflection on the public and media's interest, which feed each other, place in this tragedy and whether anything has changed in the two-and-a-half decades since.

The Princess is directed by Ed Perkins and produced by Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn, with Vanessa Tovell serving as a co-producer. Anna Klein is a coordinating producer, and Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller are executive producers. The film is presented by HBO Documentary Films in association with Sky, and is produced by Lightbox.