The Princess, Golden (2022)

Nicola Green was commissioned by Lightbox and Altitude Films to create an iconic artwork of Princess Diana to serve as the key promotional image for the documentary The Princess. Green created a portrait of Princess Diana that captures a different side to the recognisable paparazzi images and familiar official portraits. It is a universal, accessible, yet thought-provoking work that encapsulates her multidimensional story and the different facets of her identity. This artwork interrogates the notion of 'princess' that perpetuates stereotypical ideals of femininity, womanhood and domesticity, as well as certain - usually white western - beauty standards. This artwork, a repeat image, transitioning from light to dark, represents metamorphosis, it captures a moment of transition, contradictions and complexity, where her role is full of dualities but where her agency, independence and power are strikingly evident. Whilst she is celebrated for her defiance and strength, it is this combined with her fallibility and vulnerability that made people love her even more. Diana subverted and challenged the princess trope, but she also had a softness that played into it. Her empathy and connection across humanity, combined with her grace, was where her ultimate power lay. This is why Princess Diana is still a figure of such enduring appeal and inspiration today, however we may interpret her story.

To create The Princess, Golden the artist took the bold, graphic imagery created for the film, overlaying it on a hand-crafted bespoke 24ct gold panel.