Earl Charles Spencer has praised Kristen Stewart's performance as Princess Diana in the 2021 film Spencer, saying the actor captured his late sister's spirit.
He shared the view during a Q&A with journalist Tina Brown while promoting his memoir Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
Brown asked whether any fictional portrayal of Diana had come close to capturing what she was like in real life.
Spencer recalled watching Spencer, directed by Pablo Larraín, during a flight.
"I was on a plane and I saw a movie called Spencer. I thought, I'd better look at that.
And there was Kristen Stewart, who doesn't really look like Diana, but my goodness, she caught the spirit.
I thought it was an incredible performance," he said.
He separated Stewart's acting from his opinion of the film, which used a fictionalized depiction of Diana's final Christmas with the royal family at Sandringham House.
"The film's terrible. But I was really intrigued by how good she was at capturing Diana," Spencer said.
Stewart received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for the role.
Former Diana bodyguard Ken Wharfe also praised her portrayal, describing Stewart's performance as the closest to her.
Wharfe highlighted Stewart's ability to reproduce Diana's physical mannerisms and voice in the film.
Spencer said he had not watched Netflix's The Crown, which featured Diana in its fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons with Emma Corrin and Elizabeth Debicki playing the role.
He added that he could not discuss the show because he had not viewed it.
Spencer acknowledged that the actors who played Diana in The Crown received major recognition, while noting he had not seen their performances himself.
"I know that the person who acted that part has received lots of awards, so I'm sure she did a good job.
I've not seen it," he said.
The Crown portrayed Diana's story across multiple seasons, while Spencer focused on an imagined Christmas weekend involving her personal struggles and relationship with Prince Charles.
