Sophie Winkleman, the wife of the son of Prince and Princess of Michael of Kent, and star of Peep Show, has opened up about her royal relatives
An actress who married into the Royal Family has opened up about what the royals are really like – and why their lives are “total hell”. Sophie Winkleman is married to Lord Fredrick Windsor, the son of Prince and Princess of Michael of Kent – and is also known as Big Suze from the hit Channel 4 comedy Peep Show.
The mum-of-two, who is also the half-sister of Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman, has continued her acting career and is set to appear in new BBC drama Wild Cherry. But she also is a regular at Royal Family events, attending the likes of King Charles ‘ Coronation and the Firm’s annual Christmas lunch in the run-up to December 25.
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And in a new interview with The Times, she has revealed what she has learned about the likes of the King and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
She explained: “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.
“None of them went on Pop Idol or something to be famous. 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. I don’t think a life with that much scrutiny and pressure is remotely healthy, but they have no choice.”
In the same interview, the This Is Going To Hurt star, also mounted a defence for her royal in-laws against the negativity they often face.
She added: “The senior royals work really hard with thousands of charities in Britain and around the world, behind the scenes as well as front-facing. There’s no getting away from the fact they add huge prestige and heft to whatever cause they’re supporting.
“The King’s Trust is the greatest engineer for social mobility in Britain. Princess Anne does nearly 500 engagements per year. The Duchess of Edinburgh has just come back from Sudan, meeting surgeons who operate on violently raped toddlers — that is traumatic, serious work. I truly think my communist grandfather would be convinced by my arguments in favour of the royal family.”
It comes after Sophie has previously said she was welcomed into the clan with open arms, particularly by King Charles.
She previously said: “I’ve been incredibly welcomed with open arms by all of them… They’d never tell me off at all if I wanted to play some [racy] role.”
After marrying Lord Frederick in 2009, the couple moved to the US so that Sophie could further pursue her acting career and Maud, 12, was born while they were living in California.
The couple later moved back to the UK and welcomed their second daughter Isabella, 9, back in 2016. Sophie became the new royal patron of Children’s Surgery Foundation and later became the first female patron of School-Home Support.
She was a guest at the 2011 wedding of William and Kate, as well as at the 2019 wedding of her sister-in-law Lady Gabriella Windsor.
