Netflix confirms release date of controversial Princess Diana musical after string of major delays

NETFLIX has confirmed the release date of its controversial Princess Diana musical after a string of major delays.

The streaming giant will present the highly anticipated offering after it was filmed on Broadway without a live audience.

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Diana: The Musical stars Brit actress Jeanna de Waal in the title role and her depiction of the royal will be seen on screens from October 1, 2021.

The online premiere of the musical is expected to cause outrage as it includes scenes where the Queen calls the princess a “tart”, while another sees Diana in bed with James Hewitt.

Royalists may also take offence to the further portrayal of Diana’s fractured relationship with the Queen and other royals.

In the fictional piece, at one point the Queen tells Diana: “In the old days we would have chopped off your head.”

While Diana is shown to self-harm after Charles moans about “another boy” when Harry is born.

Prince Charles is to be played by Roe Hartrampf, while Erin Davie takes on the role of Camilla – and the Queen is played by US stage star Judy Kaye.

Previews for the show had begun on Broadway in March last year, promising theatregoers a tale about a “fearless princess who became timeless”, before the production was halted due to the pandemic.

A revised opening date was set for May this year, before being postponed once again.

Now producers have scheduled the New York opening for December 16, two months after the Netflix premiere.

In a joint statement, they said: “The chance to share our show, first with Netflix’s global audience, and then welcoming a live audience back on Broadway, is something we’ve all been dreaming about for more than a year.

“We could not be more thrilled to finally share both the film and the Broadway musical with the world.”

The musical, written by playwright Joe DiPietro and Bon Jovi keyboard player David Bryan, ends with reports of Diana’s death in a car crash in 1997.