THE COVER OF the latest edition of Newsweek, commemorating what would be the 50th birthday of the late Diana Spencer this month has generated huge controversy on Twitter.

Users of the social network have been sharing links to the accompanying article, penned by Newsweek’s editor-in-chief Tina Brown, which muses over what Diana’s life might look like now, “if not for that tragic night”:

Diana would have been 50 this month. What would she have been like? Still great-looking: that’s a given. Her mother, Frances Shand Kydd, with her cornflower-blue eyes and striding sexuality, was a handsome woman to the very end. Fashionwise, Diana would have gone the JCrew and Galliano route à la Michelle Obama, always knowing how to mix the casual with the glam.

There is no doubt she would have kept her chin taut with strategic Botox shots and her bare arms buff from the gym. Remarriage? At least two, I suspect, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Prince Charles, the article continues, would have later formed a strong friendship with his ex-wife, finding “the company of his ex strangely comforting”.

Accompanied by an altered image of Lady Diana clutching an iPhone, the article suggests she would have some 10 million followers on Twitter while continuing to promote “individual suffers” and world disasters.

Newsweek also made a mock-up of what Diana’s Facebook profile page might look like. Her favourite films list includes Bridget Jones’s Diary and Mamma Mia!

Readers posted mostly-negative responses to the article on Newsweek's website, although some defended Brown, saying what a "wonderful idea" it is. In a poll run by the publication via Facebook, the vast majority of respondents said they "dislike" the cover image.

The Huffington Post reports that in a recent televised interview, Brown said Newsweek's coverage had generated a huge amount of debate, though that was not her intention.

She says she found the cover "very intriguing...I think it's sad. It's a saddening thing about Diana, because I think she would've very much been a woman of our time". Brown explained that she wanted to create a realistic depiction of what Diana's life would be like now.

Here's some of what's been said about the article on Twitter: