Knightley responds to 'Duchess' criticism

Rex Features

Keira Knightley has insisted that she did not consider Princess Diana when filming her new movie The Duchess.

The film sees Knightley taking on the role of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, who was a distant relation of the late Princess of Wales.

Producers have been criticised for using footage of Diana in a trailer for the movie. They have also been accused of exaggerating the link between the two women.

Knightley has now spoken out to defend the project, insisting that Diana was not mentioned once on the set of the movie.

"I was only 11 when Diana died, so I don't really know much about her story," Knightley explained. "It didn't even occur to me to portray Georgiana as Diana, as I wasn't conscious of the similarities, and nobody suggested I should. I was always Georgiana, never Diana."

The Duchess is released on September 5 in the UK.

> Click here for our review of the film