Sophie Winkleman has spoken about the scrutiny faced by the senior royals, saying "I feel for them all," as she opened up about life in the spotlight and juggling parenting with her acting career, including starring in new TV drama, Wild Cherry. In an interview with The Times, Sophie, also known as Lady Frederick Windsor, said: "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."
The Peep Show star, 45, married Lord Frederick Windsor – son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent – at Hampton Court Palace in 2009. While the couple do not carry out public duties, they have joined the royals for events such as Royal Ascot, Trooping the Colour and the Princess of Wales's Christmas carol service.
In a previous interview with Tatler magazine in 2023, Sophie shared how the royals rallied around her after a car crash in 2017 left her with a broken spine. The late Queen Elizabeth II offered her the use of Buckingham Palace's swimming pool to aid her recovery while then Prince Charles asked his cook at Clarence House to send her two meals a day for months.
© WireImageSpeaking about her admiration for her royal relatives, she told The Times: "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."
© GettyHaving previously lived in Los Angeles for seven years, where their eldest daughter, Maud, now 12, was born, Sophie and Frederick returned to London to be closer to their families. Their second daughter, Isabella, now nine, was born in 2016 at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
