It's pretty obvious that the central theme has to do with freedom vs.
As in Shawshank, institutionalization looms like a ticking clock, each tick forward moving the individual further away from their humanity…
It's pretty obvious that the central theme has to do with freedom vs. imprisonment. This dynamic in Spencer brings to mind the theme of "institutionalization" in The Shawshank Redemption. The power of imprisonment to eat away at a person's humanity and individuality. Likewise, Diana struggles to express her individuality over the course of the weekend, typified by the resistance she shows to the clothes she's supposed to wear, the events she is supposed to attend, the "face" she is supposed to "wear" in public.
As in Shawshank, institutionalization looms like a ticking clock, each tick forward moving the individual further away from their humanity. Eventually, it killed Brooks. Red has that same choice but opts to fulfill a promise he made to Andy: Get busy living.
By story's end, this is the choice Diana has made: Choose life and what remains of her individuality over imprisonment to royal living. Tragically, as she began to "get busy living," her life was taken from her. Diana's fate hangs like a dark cloud over the story in Spencer and makes us root for her even more to embrace freedom ... for we know, while she doesn't, that her time on earth is all too short.
Tomorrow: Dialogue.