Kristen Stewart will play Princess Diana in Spencer, an upcoming biopic set to begin production early next year.

Spencer will be set over a three-day period in the early 1990s when the Princess of Wales realised her marriage to Prince Charles wasn’t working, Deadline has reported.

The royal couple separated in 1992, eventually getting divorced in 1996. Diana died one year later in a car crash in Paris.

Although Kristen is American, filmmaker Pablo Larraín – who directed Natalie Portman in Jackie – thinks the former Twilight star has the qualities necessary to play one of the most famous women of the last 50 years.

“To do this well, you need something very important in film, which is mystery,” he told Deadline. “Kristen can be many things, and she can be very mysterious and very fragile and ultimately very strong as well, which is what we need.

“The combination of those elements made me think of her. The way she responded to the script and how she is approaching the character, it’s very beautiful to see. I think she’s going to do something stunning and intriguing at the same time. She is this force of nature.”

There’s no word at present on who will play Prince Charles or Queen Elizabeth.

Diana was previously played by Naomi Watts in the 2013 biopic Diana.

She’ll also be featured in the upcoming fourth series of The Crown, where she’ll be portrayed by newcomer Emma Corrin.

Rosamund Pike was also tipped to play Diana in a second series of Ryan Murphy’s Pose, though these plans were eventually axed.