Naomi Watts to play Princess Diana in biopic

LONDON: British-Australian actress Naomi Watts is to play Britain's Princess Diana in a movie about the late royal's final two years, filmmakers have announced.

Producers said "Caught in Flight" would focus on a period when Diana, the former wife of heir to the throne Prince Charles, found "true personal happiness" shortly before her death in a 1997 car crash in Paris.

Diana wed Charles in a glittering ceremony in 1981, but the unhappy marriage ended in 1996. Charles wed his long-time companion Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005.

Watts, who won widespread critical acclaim for her role as Betty Elms in the 2001 psychological thriller "Mulholland Drive", said it was an honour to be able to play the "iconic role" of the woman known as the "People's Princess".

"Princess Diana was loved across the world and I look forward to rising to the challenge of playing her on screen," said the 44-year-old, who also won an Oscar nomination for her role as a recovering drug addict in "21 Grams".

The movie about the Princess of Wales, who was just 36 when she died, will be directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, best known for his epic 2004 film "Downfall" about the final days of Hitler. (AFP)

Diana was murdered to stop the Princess marrying a Muslim.

A German journalist has claimed that Princess Diana was secretly engaged to Egyptian film producer Dodi Fayed before she died in August 1997. Trixi Chall, who wrote for Germany’s popular Bild ­newspaper for two decades, told of a visit to Monte Carlo by Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed – just seven days before the fatal Paris car crash.

Chall claimed that she saw Diana pointing at and picking out a diamond-encrusted ring from an exclusive ­jeweller as they strolled through the resort.

Dodi later arranged for the 11,500 pounds ring – from Repossi the jeweller’s Tell Me Yes range – to be sent to the shop’s sister outlet in Paris. It was then delivered to his suite at the Paris Ritz hotel just hours before the couple died.

The remarkable evidence has added weight to the earlier claims made by former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed that Diana and Dodi were murdered in an Establishment plot to stop the Princess marrying a Muslim.

Chall has now come forward to speak for the first time about the dramatic event she witnessed during an ordinary morning shopping excursion in the swish casino resort of Monte Carlo on Saturday August 23 1997.

On that morning she went to an electrical store by the port. She said that on leaving she glanced across the road and was surprised to see Diana hand-in-hand with a man she had never seen before.

“Nobody else was aware of them and they were aware of nobody, as if they were the only ones in the world. They were not in any hurry, were chatting happily and strolling casually,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

Chall, who has detailed her account in a signed statutory declaration, added: “They went to the shop on the left of the Hermitage hotel. They looked in the window and Diana was pointing with her finger at something. I saw them entering the shop.”

There has been much speculation that Diana had an engagement ring when she died after secretly becoming engaged to Mr Fayed.

Chall said she has never given her account to the various investigations because she felt strongly from very early on there was a huge “cover-up of the truth coming from the top”.

Diana would be happy with Kate

Sir Elton John has claimed that Princess Diana would be pleased that her son Prince William is getting married to Kate Middleton.

The singer will be attending the royal wedding this Friday and insisted that the late Princess would be happy about his choice.

John admitted that the upcoming wedding will bring back memories of his friend's funeral 14 years ago.

During an interview on Good Morning America, he said: "The last time we were in Westminster Abbey, my heart sank when I saw those two young boys (Princes William and Harry) walking behind the coffin.

"I thought that was the hardest thing - I can't imagine at that young age having to walk in public, following your mother's coffin. And the next time we're in the Abbey, it's to see [William] walking up the aisle with a beautiful woman and the love of his life.

"I think it's the most joyous result and I'm sure Diana would be very, very happy about it... I think that she would be very happy with his choice. [Middleton] seems such a great girl, and they seem so much in love."

John added that his only concern for the couple is the media.

He said: "Enjoy it while you can because the press are going to give you a bumpy ride. They are going to love you. They are going to hate you. I just hope they love each other enough to stay away from all that.

"There's one thing in the world if I could get rid of, it's that negativity of the British press - that hatefulness, that horrible nastiness that we have... Yeah [the wedding] is a fairytale thing and people criticise it and say we're making too much of it. But it's about love, and in this day and age anything that's about love and positivity is a welcome relief from what's going on in the world."

Princess Diana's Gown Sells For $276,000

One of the hottest items hitting the auction block in the recent past, Princess Diana's famous black taffeta gown has been sold for a hefty $276,621 price tag.

Designed by Elizabeth Emanuel and David Emanuel, Diana wore the darling frock during her first public outing as Prince Charles' fiancée

The dress was purchased by Chilean fashion museum Fundación Museo De La Moda, with the auction taking place at Kerry Taylor Auctions in London on Tuesday (June 9).
Talking about Princess Diana's Emanuel & Emanuel gown, auctioneer Kerry Taylor said, “As the weeks before her wedding progressed, Diana lost so much weight that she returned the gown to the Emanuels to have it taken in. The alterations required were so drastic that they decided it would be easier to re-make a smaller version for her. They kept the original and forgot about it only re-discovering it quite recently.”