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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Graeme Murray

Diana's marriage to Charles was 'essentially arranged', claims filmmaker Jemima Khan

Diana's marriage to Charles was 'essentially arranged' claims the filmmaker Jemima Khan.

She spoke about how she would have liked to have been "introduced to suitable candidates" regarding marriage and added that Princess Diana wedding Charles was "essentially arranged".

Her new film 'What's Love Got To Do With It' is described as "rom-com Pakistan" and events which inspired by her life,

It followed 10 years living in Lahore when she was hitched to ex-husband and former prime minister Imran Khan.

The story looks at "the pros and cons of both styles" of dating and questions whether there can be too much choice on one hand and too little in arranged marriages.

Princess Diana (L) arriving at a restaurant for dinner with Jemima Khan (R) (AFP/Getty Images)

Jemima Khan's friend Princess Diana, she says, was one of the inspirations for the film.

The daughter of Sir James Goldsmith and sister of government minister Zac Goldsmith had a close friendship with the princess who visited her twice in Pakistan.

Khan told Sky News it showed how universal this type of marriage was across different cultures.

She discussed King Charles and Princess Diana in the interview and said: "Their marriage was essentially arranged.

"It used to happen here, even with our Royal Family.

"I know it can often seem like a really alien concept but most marriages even in the world today are arranged if you look at the global population.

"It wasn't so long ago that it was kind of the norm even in the UK."

In the film featuring actress Lily James and Shazad Latif, she looks at the myths surrounding arranged marriages which she claims are often put into binary categories of a "love marriage good" compared to an "arranged marriage bad."

Princess Diana is given a warm welcome by Jemima Khan on her arrival to Lahore, Pakistan in April 1996 (WireImage)

Khan added "There's a real issue where arranged marriage keeps getting conflated with forced marriage,"

She believed perceptions of arrange marriages were fairly negative in a modern world.

But after relocating to Pakistan at the age of 21 she changed her views.

Khan says she saw "very successful and happy arranged marriages" - but this wasas not reflected in popular culture.

In her debut feature film she describes as a "celebration of Pakistan... outside of dark politics.

"The joyful, colourful, hospitable, fun place that I know is part of Pakistani life."

Producing the film has taken more than a decade and made her reflect on her own life experiences and choices.

She added: "As I get older, I think, if I had parents who could have agreed - and were functional and good at these things - I definitely could have benefited from being introduced to suitable candidates."

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