Latest Stories- Diana’s marriage to Charles was ‘essentially arranged’, says Jemima Khan as she opens up about debut film | Ents & Arts News

Filmmaker Jemima Khan has told Sky News she would have "benefited" from being "introduced to suitable candidates" for marriage - and that Princess Diana's marriage to Charles was

"essentially arranged".Khan's new film What's Love Got To Do With It is her version of "rom-com Pakistan" - inspired by events in her own life, during her 10 years living in Lahore

married to ex-husband and former prime minister Imran Khan. The film centres around the protagonist Zoe - a filmmaker played by actress Lily James - as she navigates the modern

dating world, parallel to her neighbour and childhood friend Kazim (Shazad Latif) as he pursues an arranged marriage with a bride from Pakistan.The story explores "the pros and

cons of both styles" - dating, and "whether it's too much choice with apps", or, conversely, "too little choice with arranged marriage". Image: Khan's new film stars Lily James and

Shazad Latif Pic: YouTube One motivation for the film was Jemima Khan's friend Princess Diana. The producer - daughter of billionaire Sir James Goldsmith and sister of Conservative

peer and government minister Zac Goldsmith - maintained a close friendship with Princess Diana, who visited her twice while she was living in Pakistan.It was this relationship,

Khan told Sky News, that showed her just how universal this style of marriage was cross-culturally. Image: Princess Diana going to dinner with Jemima Khan during a solo visit to

Pakistan in 1996 Pic: AP Talking about King Charles and Princess Diana, Khan 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."Khan's film attempts to dispel the myths surrounding arranged marriages, which she says are often categorised into a "love marriage good" versus

"arranged marriage bad" binary. Image: The newly married Prince and Princess of Wales kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding ceremony in 1981 "There's a real

issue where arranged marriage keeps getting conflated with forced marriage," Khan said.Before moving to Pakistan, she thought they were "quite a standard, fairly negative idea

about arranged marriage, and how it fits into the modern world".However, upon relocating aged 21, she saw arranged marriages "up close" and changed her mind.Khan says she saw "very

successful and happy arranged marriages" - but, to her surprise, the same narrative was not reflected in popular culture.Her debut feature film, therefore, is a "celebration of