Princess Di’s Aussie friend Marie Sutton says Diana would be “disappointed” to see her celebrated life reduced to a widely ridiculed film, criticised by everyone from former lover Hasnat Khan to movie critics.
“I don’t think Naomi Watts will look back and see it as a wise decision to try to play such an iconic woman,” Marie says. “Diana was out there and strong – I don’t see those characteristics in Naomi.”
Charity fundraiser Marie became a confidante of Diana’s in the eight months leading up to her August 1996 divorce from Prince Charles. She spoke with her up to three times a week while helping to organise her last trip to Australia.
Today she says, “I truly think it’s impossible for anyone to play the part of Diana. She was one of those people who come along once in a lifetime.
Read more about Marie’s relationship with Diana in this week’s issue of Woman’s Day, on sale Monday, Ocotber 7, 2013.