Naomi Watts - Naomi Watts Playing Princess Diana In Love Affair Movie

'The Tree of Life' star Jessica Chastain was attached to the project last year, but pulled out for unknown reasons. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel, who directed the 2004 Adolf Hitler flick 'Downfall', instead sought the acting services of Watts, who duly agreed to join the project. In a statement released today, the actress, 43, said, "It is such an honour to be able to play this iconic role - Princess Diana was loved across the world and I look forward to rising to the challenge of playing her on screen". Shooting on the movie will begin in Britain and Australia later this year. Director Hirschbiegel said he was "delighted to have such a truly exceptional actress who embodies the warmth, humanity and empathy of such a global icon as Princess Diana", going on to describe the movie's plotline as "a love story between a princess locked in a tower and an ordinary man".

Though the princess was involved with Dodi Fayed at the time of the death in Paris in 1997, friends still insist the love of her life was always Dr Khan, a surgeon who worked at London's Royal Brompton Hospital. Khan allegedly thought that marrying Diana would be "impossible" and the couple called off their relationship in the summer of 1997.