British actress Sophie Winkleman (a.k.a. Lady Frederick Windsor) married Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009, bringing her into the royal family fold — so she has some insight on their lives in the public eye.
“The more I get to know the royal family, the more I get that their lives are total hell and that level of unasked-for fame is a form of torture,” Sophie, 45, shared during an interview with the U.K.’s The Times published Wednesday, November 12. “None of them went on Pop Idol or something to be famous.”
She added, “To have that sort of blinding spotlight in your face from when you’re born, not knowing quite whom you can trust, not knowing if someone’s going to betray you, people writing lies about you the whole time, is just brutal. I feel for them all.”
Sophie said she imagines living with “scrutiny and pressure” is not healthy. “They have no choice,” she added.
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Sophie’s father-in-law is Prince Michael of Kent, Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousin, which is how she is connected to the royal family. She’s been spotted at several royal events over the years, including standing on the Buckingham Palace balcony during Trooping the Colour. Sophie was even photographed alongside King Charles III at the Royal Ascot during multiple appearances at the annual event. More recently, she attended Katharine, The Duchess of Kent‘s memorial service in September.
Sophie and Frederick met in 2007 and tied the knot two years later.
“I didn’t know anyone at my wedding,” she told The Times, seemingly alluding to attendees from the royal family. “I had my best pals there, but basically it was full of faces I’d never seen before.”
This past May, Sophie discussed her “blur” of a wedding during an interview with the U.K.’s The Telegraph.
“We had to move to Los Angeles the day after, and I had to start a brand-new job the day after that,” she recalled. “So, we got married on Saturday and moved everything, our whole lives, out to America the day after. And I’d been so concentrating on the work that I hadn’t thought about the wedding.”
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Despite the chaos that was her wedding, Sophie made it clear that she has no qualms about marrying into a very famous family.
“Family isn’t always brilliant, but this lot are very sweet,” she told The Telegraph of her husband’s side. “I love all of them.”
Aside from her connection to the royals, Sophie has a successful career as an actress, having nabbed several notable roles.
She appeared in Peep Show from 2005 to 2010 as Big Suze and starred in Two and a Half Men from 2011 to 2015 as Zoey. Sophie also played The Countess in 2023’s Wonka.
“I loved parts of the American DNA, the dynamism and can-do positivity,” she told The Times on Wednesday about living in L.A. for certain jobs. “They’re happy for their friends when they do well. The flip side is they worship money and fame a bit too much.”
