Kristen Stewart Feels ‘Protective’ Over Princess Diana: ‘She Was So Young’

Kristen Stewart just opened up about how she feels about portraying Princess Diana in the new movie Spencer, revealing it's “hard not to feel protective” over the late royal.

On November 24, the actor made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote her star-studded lesbian holiday movie Happiest Season, as well as discuss how she's preparing to play the beloved Princess of Wales in the upcoming Pablo Larraín–directed biopic, which is expected to begin production in 2021.

Stewart addressed what it's like to step into the role of “one of the most beloved figures in the history of the world,” explaining that while she “didn't grow up” with Diana, she feels a connection to Prince William and Prince Harry's mom, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

She also understands the “love” people felt—and still feel—toward Diana after her tragic death. “I feel sort of the same way about her. It happened really quickly,” she said, adding, “I didn’t grow up with her maybe in the same way. I was really young when she passed away." 

Kristen Stewart, who was just seven at the time, said she does remember all the flowers that were put in front of Buckingham Palace in the days following her devastating accident. “It’s hard not to feel protective over her,” she added. “She was so young.”

The film, which was announced in June, “covers a critical weekend in the early ’90s, when Diana decided her marriage to Prince Charles wasn’t working, and that she needed to veer from a path that put her in line to one day be queen.” Stewart calls it “really poetic.”

“My movie takes place over three days, and it’s this really poetic internal imagining of what that might have felt like rather than giving new information,” she explained. “We kind of don’t have a mark to hit, we just also love her.”

Originally Appeared on Glamour