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Covid Vaccine Passports: Boris Johnson Facing Tory Rebellion Over Certification Scheme

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More than 70 MPs as well as peers from the House of Lords have launched a campaign claiming coronavirus vaccine passports would be “divisive and discriminatory”.

The cross-party opposition includes 40 Tories and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

A pledge has been signed by Conservative former leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith, Labour former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and ex-Lib Dem leader Tim Farron.

It has also been backed by a string of Tory former ministers including Esther McVey, Nus Ghani, Mark Harper and Harriett Baldwin.

Former shadow attorney general Baroness Shami Chakrabarti said the scheme would be “dangerous, discriminatory and counter-productive”.

The government has insisted no final decisions have been taken on whether Covid-status certification could play a role in reopening the economy.

It comes as a report in The Daily Telegraph suggested a series of pilot tests for certificates were being planned, which could include the FA Cup final and other sporting events in May.

Boris Johnson has defended the idea and suggested a certificate could give “maximum confidence” to businesses and customers as society reopens.

Any scheme is likely to go beyond just showing whether someone has had a vaccine – as jabs are not mandatory – covering whether they have had Covid-19, and so are likely to have antibodies, or if they have a negative recent test.

Baroness Chakrabarti, the former director of human rights organisation Liberty, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s dangerous, it’s discriminatory, it’s counter-productive.”

The Labour peer warned that using coronavirus certificates could create a “checkpoint Britain” as she urged for the country to “open up together” as restrictions ease.

“It’s one thing to have a passport to travel internationally, that is a privilege, even a luxury, but participating in local community life is a fundamental right,” she added.

The group’s pledge has been backed by Big Brother Watch, Liberty, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) and Privacy International.

Senior Tory MP Sir Graham Brady, who is also a signatory to the pledge, which has been backed by a string of Conservative former ministers, insisted the aim should be to return to normal life.

The chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs said: “Covid-status certification would be divisive and discriminatory.

“With high levels of vaccination protecting the vulnerable and making transmission less likely, we should aim to return to normal life, not to put permanent restrictions in place.”

Earlier this week, Labour leader Keir Starmer indicated there could be opposition to the move among the public if death rates are near zero and hospital admissions are very low.

A government spokeswoman said: “The review is considering a range of issues, including the ethical, equalities, privacy, legal and operational aspects, and what limits, if any, should be placed on organisations using certification.”

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said that introducing vaccine passports could potentially “scupper things” for hospitality venues which are trying to reopen.

On the possible use of coronavirus certificates, she told BBC Breakfast: “This would be an additional burden put on to the pubs. We are desperate to get back open again. We are desperate to do that.

“We will play our part in test and trace but the additional burden of the vaccine passport could really, really scupper things.

“It is a difficult process for us to implement in venues and yet today we have not had a consultation with the government about how we would do this in pubs.”

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Tory Councillor Says £500 Self-Isolation Payment Could Be ‘Incentive’ To Spread Covid

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PAUL ELLIS via AFP via Getty Images

Shoppers pass beneath an electronic sign promoting the NHS Covi-19 app, outside the Arndale Centre in Manchester.

A Tory councillor has come under fire after suggesting £500 Covid-19 self-isolation payments would be an “incentive to spread” the virus.

John Fuller OBE, who is the Conservative leader of South Norfolk Council, told BBC Newsnight on Thursday: “Let’s not have a system whereby if you catch Covid, you get £500.

“That is an incentive to actually spread the disease, and that’s not in anybody’s interests.”

When asked by host Kirsty Wark, “Are you really saying £500 is an incentive for people to spread the disease?” he replied: “What I’m saying is… let’s not… I said let’s not have the incentive, I didn’t say it was, let’s not have an incentive that would encourage people to catch the disease.

“Our job is to bear down on it as quickly as we can.”

His words were condemned by Liverpool metro mayor Steve Rotherham, who described the suggestion as “shocking” and “an insult” to the people who have died as a result of Covid-19. 

People who have been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace are entitled to a £500 Test and Trace Support Payment.

But Labour has said the payment – which can be claimed by those who cannot work from home but need to isolate – should be available to everyone without access to workplace sick pay.

The Test and Trace Support Payment applies to both employed and self-employed people in England, but there is concern that some people who need it are unable to access it.

On Thursday’s BBC Newsnight, the Liverpool mayor cited figures showing 70% of applications for the payment were being rejected.

“There is no one-off £500 payment that would convince anybody, even on low pay, to actually get Covid,” he said in response to Fuller.

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Far-Right Will Use Government-Backed Race Report ‘As A Cover’ For Racism, Campaigners Warn

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The controversial government-backed report which claimed institutional racism does not exist in the UK will be used as a “cover” by the far-right to “peddle their own racism”, anti-racism campaigners have warned.

Hope Not Hate said the report contains a number of views that are often echoed in far-right groups, as well as right-wing media and on the right of the Conservative Party.

But the far right in particular will use the findings to “deny racism exists” and validate their own narrative of “white people being the real victims of racism”, which could lead to a rise in political and physical attacks on those who strive for racial equality, the campaigners said.

It came as leading the Runnymede Trust, a leading race equality think-tank, said the report was “littered with racist tropes”, including references to the “optimism” of some immigrants as opposed to others, references to absent Black fathers and claims of “rising sensitivity” among ethnic minorities to racism.

The commission “repeats harmful stereotypes”, “belittles the realities of racial injustice in this country” and has “set race relations back decades”, the trust said.

The review has sparked widespread criticism, particularly over its suggestion that British schools should teach “a new story” about slavery that is not only “about profit and suffering”. 

The day after its publication on Wednesday, Downing Street’s most senior Black adviser, Samuel Kasumu, quit his post, although No.10 sources insisted his departure had “absolutely nothing to do with the report”. 

Nick Lowles, director of Hope Not Hate, said the report amplified “libertarian conservative views on race” that were previously “consigned to the margins for 30 years”.

“The consequences could be very dangerous,” he told HuffPost UK.

“The far right, and racists generally, will use this report to deny racism exists and as a cover to peddle their own racism. 

“They will feel that their own narrative of white people being the real victims of racism will be validated and as a consequence we are also likely to see an increase in their political and physical attacks on those who strive for racial equality and justice.”

Lowles also highlighted January polling by Hope Not Hate which suggested 62% of ethnic minority Britons agree Black and Asian people face discrimination in their daily lives, while 40% experienced or saw racial violence in the past 12 months.

“The report is a small group of ideologically minded people telling huge swathes of ethnic minority communities that they are wrong about their own experiences,” he said.

Runnymede policy officer Alba Kapoor said the commission was “a fig leaf looking to disguise the realities of structural racism in our society, instead of taking meaningful steps to address it”.

She told HuffPost UK: “This report not only seeks to belittle the realities of racial injustice in this country, but it is also littered with concerning racist tropes.

“It repeats harmful stereotypes about ethnic minority family structures and goes so far as to claim that some experiences of racism are just imagined. 

“This rhetoric is offered without meaningful policy measures to address the injustices faced by Black and ethnic minority families that this government feigns concern for.

“However you spin it, these kinds of comments should never be seen in a government report, and set race relations back decades.”

Earlier, Boris Johnson called the review a “very interesting piece of work” but admitted more needed to be done to address racism.

“I don’t say the government is going to agree with absolutely everything in it, but it has some original and stimulating work in it that I think people need to read and to consider,” the prime minister said during a visit to Middlesbrough.

“There are very serious issues that our society faces to do with racism that we need to address.

“We’ve got to do more to fix it, we need to understand the severity of the problem, and we’re going to be looking at all the ideas that they have put forward, and we’ll be making our response.”

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James Corden Reveals How Close Paul McCartney Came To Pulling The Plug On Carpool Karaoke

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Sir Paul McCartney’s viral 2018 Carpool Karaoke appearance came this close to being cancelled by the artist,  James Corden revealed this week.

The legendary Beatle repeatedly “got cold feet” over the project, which was filmed in his native city of Liverpool, England, the Late, Late Show host recalled. 

Speaking at PaleyFest LA 2021, James said he sent a heartfelt email to Macca, pleading the case for the singer-songwriter’s participation.

The show had already scouted locations, he told Sir Paul, and cancelling at the eleventh hour would cause a big financial hit. He promised the segment would turn out “great”.

Carpool Karaoke

Paul McCartney on Carpool Karaoke

Sir Paul apparently wobbled multiple times, and even considered pulling the plug on the morning of the shoot, according to James. Fortunately, the star finally agreed to get back on board when he was told to enjoy himself.

The Carpool Karaoke segment itself saw the pair driving around Liverpool, with Sir Paul visiting someone of his old haunts and singing Penny Lane on, well, Penny Lane, obviously.

James also got misty-eyed when they performed Let It Be together.

After it aired, Sir Paul secured his first chart-topping album as a soloist in the United States and, according to James, texted him to say: “We did it. Thank you for convincing me to do it. I had a blast.”

Check out Corden’s comments here:

And see the “Carpool Karaoke” segment here:

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Pfizer Jab’s ‘Off The Scale’ Antibodies Could Protect Against Brazil Variant

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“The other potential is that you boost your antibody levels so high from whatever vaccine you have that there’s enough to go around and you cope with the variant.

“We’ve certainly seen in this paper that the antibody levels are so good, really after the first two weeks, that we are pretty confident that this should be very helpful against the Brazilian variant.”

Asked if he is surprised how well the vaccines have worked in older people, he said: “We were. When we sent these samples to Porton Down they said ‘we can’t give you results right now because we’ve got to dilute them because they’re so high, they’re off the scale’.

“The antibody levels were so high that they’d gone above the thresholds so they had to dilute them.”

But he added it will be crucial to see how long antibody levels are maintained after people have had a Covid-19 vaccine.

“It will be important to assess that and whether they wane at different rates in people of different ages,” he said.

“I think that’s something that we have to watch out for.”

Although the new study did not look at the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine, Prof Moss said the evidence for the jab is that “it’s very, very effective”.

He added: “The UK has a strong portfolio of vaccines – Pfizer, AstraZeneca, we’ve got Moderna coming very soon, and Novavax as well.

“So yes, I think it’s possible that we can have very broad vaccine coverage across the UK very quickly.”

On T cell responses, Prof Moss said they are “better against variants overall” than antibodies, but he added the role of T cells in fighting coronavirus is still uncertain.

“I do think cellular immunity is very important,” he said, adding that a third of people in the study had no cellular responses detected.

“We know that, as people age, their cellular and immune responses are more difficult to elicit.

“Even influenza vaccines are much less effective in older people so that’s something that we will keep an eye on very closely.”

Prof Moss also said the UK’s plan to exit lockdown appears to be “on track”, with policies to control variants, the development of new vaccines and a strong immunisation programme.

“I think we can be confident about gaining control of variants with the current plans, and also leaving lockdown,” he said.

First author on the paper, Dr Helen Parry, a National Institute for Health Research academic clinical lecturer at the University of Birmingham, said: “Our research provides further evidence that the mRNA vaccine platform delivers a strong immune antibody response in people up to 96 years of age and retains broad efficacy against the P.1 (Brazilian) variant, which is a variant of concern.”

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Brit Awards 2021: Dua Lipa, Celeste And AJ Tracey Lead This Year’s Nominations

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This year’s Brit Awards nominees have been confirmed, with Dua Lipa, Celeste and AJ Tracey among the top nominees.

All three of these artists have received a total of three nods, as have British rapper Headie One, singer-songwriter Arlo Parks and music duo Young T & Bugsey.

The nominees for the upcoming awards show were announced on Wednesday afternoon in a special live-stream fronted by Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw.

Also in the running are Album Of The Year contenders J Hus and Jessie Ware, each on two nominations, while Harry Styles has also received a nod in the British Single category.

Getty/Shutterstock

Brits 2021

Little Mix have received one nomination in for Best British Group, where they’re up against The 1975 for the third time.

Meanwhile, chart-topping star Joel Corry is also on two nominations after having a huge hit with the MNEK collaboration Head & Heart.

Check out the full list of nominees below…

British Album Of The Year

Arlo Parks – Collapsed In Sunbeams

Celeste – Not Your Muse

Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia

J Hus – Big Conspiracy

Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure?

Song Of The Year

220 Kid and Gracey – Don’t Need Love

Aitch and AJ Tracey – Rain

Dua Lipa – Physical

Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar

Headie One, AJ Tracey and Stormzy – Ain’t It Different

Joel Corry and MNEK – Head and Heart

Nathan Dawe and KSI – Lighter

Regard and Raye – Secrets

S1mba and DTG – Rover

Young T & Bugsey feat. Headie One – Don’t Rush

British Male Solo Artist

AJ Tracey

Headie One

J Hus

Joel Corry

Yungblud

British Female Solo Artist

Arlo Parks

Celeste

Dua Lipa

Jessie Ware

Lianne La Havas 

Ollie Millington via Getty Images

Headie One pictured in 2019

British Group

Bicep

Biffy Clyro

Little Mix

The 1975

Young T & Bugsey

Breakthrough Artist

Arlo Parks

Bicep

Celeste

Joel Corry

Young T & Bugsey

International Female Solo Artist

Ariana Grande

Billie Eilish

Cardi B

Miley Cyrus

Taylor Swift

International Male Solo Artist

Bruce Springsteen

Burna Boy

Childish Gambino

Tame Impala

The Weeknd

International Group

BTS

Fontaines D.C.

Foo Fighters

Haim

Run The Jewels

Rising Star

Griff (winner)

Pa Salieu

Rina Sawayama

The 2021 Brit Awards will take place live at The O2 Arena on 11 May, with comedian Jack Whitehall on presenting duties for the fourth year in a row.

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Ryan Reynolds Expertly Trolls Conspiracy Theorists As He Receives Covid-19 Vaccine

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Ryan Reynolds had some fun at anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists’ expense as he received his jab against Covid-19.

The Canadian actor posted a picture of himself receiving the vaccine on Wednesday, along with a cheeky message referencing a certain debunked conspiracy theory that began circulating in the early days of the pandemic.

“Finally got 5G,” the Deadpool actor wrote alongside a photo of himself getting the jab while sporting a face covering and, we have to say, a rather fetching pink hat.

The tweet quickly sparked some brilliant responses on social media – with the exception of mobile phone network Vodafone, who commented: “Please don’t encourage them, Ryan.”

Since the vaccine roll-out began last year, a number of high-profile stars have spoken out about receiving the jab.

Among those to receive it in the early stages were Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith and veteran actors Sir Ian McKellen and Brian Blessed.

More recently, Dolly Parton made quite the literal song and dance when she had hers earlier this month, delivering a rewritten version of her classic Jolene while she had the injection.

“Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you, please don’t hesitate,” she sang. Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, because once you’re dead, then that’s a bit too late.”

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Northern Independence Party Manifesto Plan Includes Referendum On Ditching The Queen

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Jonathan BradyPA

Reigning Queens screenprint by Andy Warhol

Legalisation of cannabis and referendums on ditching the Queen and scrapping the pound are among the manifesto plans of the newly formed Northern Independence Party that is fighting the Hartlepool by-election.

The draft programme of the NIP, which is a “democratic socialist” party that wants to repeat the SNP’s success in replacing Labour, calls for the public to be given a say over the currency and the monarchy alongside a raft of proposals to create a country of “Northumbria”.

The new state – which would include the north-west, north-east, Yorkshire and Humber, and Cheshire – would accept Brexit for now.

But the draft manifesto adds: “If however the people of a free North want to rejoin the EU at some point in the distant future, then that is a decision for the people.”

The NIP hopes to capitalise on discontent with Keir Starmer’s leadership by backing Thelma Walker, a former Labour MP and strong Jeremy Corbyn supporter, as a candidate in the Hartlepool by-election on May 6.

A draft “mini manifesto” for the local elections, which has been sent to members of the party for consultation but is not yet public, has been passed to HuffPost UK. A final version is expected to be ratified next week.

The mini-manifesto includes a wide range of policies including giving NHS nurses a 15% pay rise and all council workers a “real living wage” of £9.50 an hour.

Among the eclectic proposals are “an increase in the penalties for sheep worrying” to protect farmers, a lowering of the state pension age and council-run e-bike rental schemes.

Referendums of “the people of the free North” would be central to the new state, with the removal of the Queen as head of state and the creation of a new currency among the options.

“Many people in the North love the royal family, and it is not for us as a party to decide this,” the manifesto states.

“If enough people in a free North want to keep the Queen as head of state, as she is in many commonwealth countries, then she will be asked to be. If the majority of people want to be a republic, then we will be.”

Northern Independence Party

Northern Independence Party logo

It takes a similar view on whether to keep sterling. “We don’t know what the relationship between the pound, the euro, and other currencies will look like when we gain independence.

“There are important factors to consider on all sides – while introducing a new currency has costs, and would be disruptive, it could also make it easier to invest in rebuilding our hollowed-out industries, and make our exports more competitive on international markets.”

On drugs, the NIP states: “We believe that cannabis should be legalised, as it has across much of the US and Canada, and will favour harm reduction approaches to other illegal drugs.”

The manifesto also calls for privatised energy and water companies to be brought under public control locally, for more pilots of a universal basic income system and for stronger trans rights, including the legalisation to protect trans teenagers’ access to puberty blockers.

It proposes public libraries should be brought back under council or community ownership, and vows to “support local independent newspapers and journalism by writing for them, taking out adverts, and providing grants to new organisations”.

The NIP recognises that while independence is its ultimate goal, its candidates will in the short term have to “fight the system from within” by backing policies at council and Westminster level that would shift the UK in a more socialist direction.

Since its launch last year, the party has tried to use humour in its online media presence to boost its profile, recently defending the use of a whippet on its logo as a satire on perceptions of the north.

The NIP’s membership has soared since Walker was announced as its candidate for Hartlepool earlier this week, going up from 300 to 1300.

NIP co-funder Philip Proudfoot told HuffPost UK: ”A new state, in order to have buy-in and legitimacy would require lots of referendums, that direct democracy element is foundational to the project.

“If it comes to questions like ‘do you keep the monarchy?’, there’s an ongoing debate within an NIP whether we just put it in as a policy, and then if people vote for us that’s what they’re getting – or whether or not it would be a referendum to be decided.”

Proudfoot said that the party was made up of “ordinary people” ranging from farmers – who want tougher penalties to protect their sheep –  to mental health nurses, from teachers to the unemployed worried about Universal Credit.

Members are being asked for feedback on the draft manifesto ahead of a special meeting expected next week. “We’re trying to be hyper, hyper democratic,” Proudfoot said.

Referring to the cannabis policy, he added: “Our main target is of course, young, socially liberal, left-wing people living in our towns and cities in the north. What do they want? Legalisation of cannabis. It’s pretty standard now across the world, isn’t it?

“The people of Hartlepool do deserve to have a left-wing candidate. In terms of what will be our national policies, it’s kind of inspired by 2017 Labour, because that’s when the Labour party increased its vote share in the north.”

Here is a copy of the draft mini-manifesto – known as a “minifesto” – in full:

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Rachel Bilson Says Rami Malek Was Less Than Impressed With Her Throwback Photo Of Them As Teenagers

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Rachel Bilson and Rami Malek have apparently been involved in some drama that’s straight out of a high school yearbook.

The former star of The O.C. sat down with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman on a recent episode of their podcast, Armchair Expert, and shared an odd story about the Oscar winner.

Apparently, back in February 2019, Rachel shared a snapshot of herself and Rami in New York City when they were teenagers, in an effort to poke fun at their younger selves.

The pair were friends back in the day, having both attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, so the image was a nod to where they came from.

Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Rachel Bilson

“Rami was a good friend of mine,” explained Rachel.“We were [in] the same crew. We did [the play] The Crucible together [in] senior year, we were the leads in it together— all these things.”

Rachel figured the throwback photo would be a fun way to celebrate Rami amid his various appearances at various awards shows in 2019 for his performance as Freddie Mercury in the Queen film Bohemian Rhapsody.

“Obviously, he gets super famous and he’s always been extremely talented … even in high school,” she continued.

“I had posted a throwback of us from our senior trip to New York… just the dorkiest picture of the both of us. But I throw it up [on Instagram], ’cause it’s funny and I think it’s so important to be able to make fun of yourself.”

However, she then that the image soon prompted a direct message from Rami on Instagram.

Amy Sussman via Getty Images

Rami Malek at last year’s Oscars

Rachel said that when her old friend contacted her there was no “hey! how are you?”.

“It was straight to: ‘I would really appreciate if you take that down. I’m a really private person’,” she revealed.

“I was like, ‘Oh, shit! Okay!’ I get really hot and start sweating. I’m all nervous, like, ‘Oh god! What did I do?’. He was a really good friend, it’s a funny picture … you know? I don’t take myself that seriously.”

Rachel later spoke with Rami’s stylist, a friend of hers, who said: “Well it’s not a great picture of him.”

She also said that The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz remarked on the post, telling her: “You did him dirty. He’s about to be [Oscar] nominated.”

“I removed it, and I even wrote to him a really nice message like, ‘I’m so sorry! Go get the Oscar! You’re doing amazing’,” Rachel recalled. “And I never heard anything back, which is fine.

“I was super bummed because he was so nice, and we were good friends. I’m a big fan of not taking yourself seriously, especially at that level of fame and talent. But look, he wants to be super respected. It’s his thing, so I respected it. I took it down. I was just a little bummed at how it was handled.”

Rami probably didn’t stay too upset, though. He walked away with the Oscar for Best Actor just a few weeks later.

Listen to Rachel’s full interview on the Armchair Expert podcast.

A version of this story previously appeared on the US edition of HuffPost.

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Princess Diana Musical Coming To Netflix Ahead Of Broadway Return

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A new musical based on the life of Princess Diana is coming to Netflix later this year, it has been confirmed.

The stage production, titled simply Diana, began preview performances on Broadway in March 2020, but was shut down after just nine shows when theatres closed due to the pandemic.

Producers of Diana have now announced plans for the musical to reopen in December, but before that, the whole world will have the opportunity to watch it on Netflix.

A filmed version of the show, recorded in September, is set to debut on the streaming platform on 1 October, two months before its return to Broadway.

Evan Zimmerman/Matthew Murphy

Broadway performer Jeanna de Waal as Princess Diana

Frank Marshall, one of Diana’s producers, told the New York Times: “I think people will see the movie and will say, that’s a show I want to see in person.”

Beth Williams, another of its leading producers, added: “We feel like it’s an incredible opportunity to put Diana in front of the global Netflix audience, and then give them an opportunity to see it live.”

Diana features Broadway performer Jeanna de Waal in the title role, while Roe Hartrampf and Erin Davie play Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, respectively.

Judy Kaye – who won a Tony Award for her performance in Phantom Of The Opera – also appears as Queen Elizabeth II.

HuffPost UK has contacted Netflix for clarification on whether the Diana musical will also be streaming in the UK.

Tim Graham via Getty Images

Princess Diana pictured in 1995

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