A CONTROVERSIAL £1.5 million ballet about the life of Diana, Princess of Wales has been performed for the first time in Manchester.

Diana the Princess, created by Danish choreographer and friend of the Royal Peter Schauffus, portrays the Prince of Wales as a heartless brute, sternly dressed in a double-breasted suit.

The Prince, who spurns his wife throughout, is shown passionately cavorting with Camilla Parker Bowles in the early stages of his marriage. In another scene Diana, who is portrayed as being treated cruelly by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in the show, wriggles romantically with Dodi Fayed.

Schauffus, who supervised private dancing lessons for Diana while he was running the English National Ballet in the 1980s, described the piece as a tribute to the Princess of Wales.

He said: "I think she would love the show."

The ballet runs until April 12.