Former royal aide Stewart Pearce said Kristen Stewart lacked the grace to portray Princess Diana in "Spencer."

The author of "Diana: The Voice of Change" said he would not be surprised if viewers walked out of the "immensely grey" movie halfway through it. He claimed the lead star was unsuccessful in capturing the true spirit of the late Princess of Wales and even called her movements "very jerky, staccato mannered" instead of being graceful.

Pearce, who was Princess Diana's voice and presence coach, said "Spencer" was "tiresome" to watch and that Stewart did not have the "flow and grace" of Princess Diana. The movie itself failed to "communicate her inner wroughtness."

"I was challenged by it in really interesting ways. It was not comfortable to watch," he told the Express and added, "Kristen's rhythms were very staccato and very breathy. It seemed that many of the actors had been encouraged to speak in a conspiratorial manner."

"They were all using these very, very half voices and moving so fast it was often very difficult to hear what was going on. My work is about how we don't judge the characters that we are playing, but we find points of empathy so that we truly care about what is taking place on the screen. If actors don't care about the people that they are playing, automatically that is communicated to the audience," Pearce explained.

He shared that the audience may not "necessarily pick up the subtlety of that, but what they will do is switch off their screens or leave the movie theatre because the vibration doesn't enrapture them."

According to the Daily Mail, the Pablo Larrain-directed film only took home £1.5million out of its production cost of over £13.3million despite it being screened in 996 cinemas globally. Yet, Stewart earned a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of the late Princess Diana in "Spencer." She is said to be in the running for an Oscar award.

"Spencer" covers three fictional days during the Christmas holidays at Sandringham with the royal family. It talks about Princess Diana's failed marriage to Prince Charles and her eating disorder.

Kristen Stewart
There was immediate awards buzz around Kristen Stewart for her role as Princess Diana in "Spencer". Photo: AFP / Filippo MONTEFORTE AFP / Filippo MONTEFORTE