Sophie Winkleman is a British actress and she’s married to Lord Frederick Windsor, son of Prince Michael of Kent and Princess Michael of Kent. Winkleman is “in” the British royal family to a certain extent, but she has free rein to continue working as an actress and pursue any and all career paths. Her husband works as well, for JPMorganChase. It’s interesting because Sophie gives interviews with some regularity, always to promote her work, but she inevitably makes news for what she says about the royals or her love-hate relationship with America. Currently, she’s promoting Wild Cherry, but most of her Times interview is about her marriage, her kids, the dangers of social media and yes, the royals. Some highlights:
The Windsors’ lives are hell: “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.”
She still smokes occasionally: “I promise I only smoke about three a week; I reckon that’s only as bad as standing behind a car.” How about vaping? “No way. I disapprove of Febreze smoking — vapes leave that cloud of watermelon goop in your face. Revolting. I love smoking, but it’s a major flaw. Everyone in my generation has managed to stop. I’m sorry, I know how thick it is.”
Her mother-in-law Princess Michael organized her wedding: “I didn’t know anyone at my wedding. I had my best pals there, but basically it was full of faces I’d never seen before.”
She and Freddie lived in America for seven years: “I loved parts of the American DNA, the dynamism and can-do positivity. They’re happy for their friends when they do well. The flipside is they worship money and fame a bit too much.”
Childcare is a perpetual issue for her: “Then when you do get a job, you suddenly go into cafés and say, ‘Do you like children? If so, for the next four months, just come to my house.’ I find anyone and everyone. The poor kids have different people almost every day.”
The Windsors work so hard: “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.”
Her brother-in-law’s passing last year: Gilded as their lives may appear, Winkleman and her husband have had their share of pain. Last year Thomas Kingston, the husband of Frederick’s sister, Lady Gabriella Kingston, to whom the couple are extremely close, died by suicide. “That was a big tragedy in our lives and we all miss him every day. My girls adored him. It’s brutal. We’re still in touch with all his family and it feels like he’s still with us.” Frederick has since started working with a charity, James’ Place, which helps men with suicidal thoughts. “It’s not a positive to come out of it at all, but it makes you so much more aware that the exterior of someone can be very different from what’s going on inside.”
“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.” I don’t necessarily disagree, but it’s wild that the people who believe that the Windsors should be pitied are the same people dragging Harry and Meghan for getting out and refusing to put up with being tortured constantly. It’s also funny that she talks about how hard-working the family is and she did not name-check William and Kate whatsoever. I keep saying that there is a big awareness of William and Kate’s significant flaws within the family.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- St Paul’s Cathedral, London, UK. 3 June 2022. The National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, part of Platinum Jubilee Celebrations for The Queen’s reign. Leaving the service (left to right): Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman, Lady Gabriella and Thomas Kingston,Image: 696890237, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: MALCOLM PARK / Avalon
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- Sophie Winkleman, Lord Frederick Windsor and children attend The “Together At Christmas” Carol Service at Westminster Abbey on December 08, 2023 in London, England. Spearheaded by The Princess of Wales, and supported by The Royal Foundation, the service is a moment to bring people together at Christmas time and recognise those who have gone above and beyond to help others throughout the year.,Image: 827907359, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman at the Serpentine Gallery Summer Party 2025 at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, London, United Kingdom,Image: 1014909094, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Cat Morley/Avalon
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- Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman at the Serpentine Gallery Summer Party 2025 at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, London, United Kingdom,Image: 1014909103, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Cat Morley/Avalon
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- London, UK, 16th Sep 2025. Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Windsor (Sophie Winkleman). Mourners, including members of the Royal Family, are seen arriving at Westminster Cathedral for a requiem mass, a Catholic funeral service held for the Duchess of Kent, who passed away on 4 Sep.,Image: 1037840576, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Imageplotter/Avalon
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- London, UK, 16th Sep 2025. Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Windsor (Sophie Winkleman). Mourners, including members of the Royal Family, are seen arriving at Westminster Cathedral for a requiem mass, a Catholic funeral service held for the Duchess of Kent, who passed away on 4 Sep.,Image: 1037840594, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Imageplotter/Avalon
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- King Charles III with Sophie Winkleman leave after the Requiem Mass service for the Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral, central London. Picture date: Tuesday September 16, 2025. This is the first Catholic funeral service held for a member of the royal family in modern British history. Katharine, the wife of the late Queen’s cousin the Duke of Kent, converted to Catholicism in 1994.,Image: 1037862701, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jordan Pettitt/Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 24: Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman attend the Serpentine Summer Party 2025 at Serpentine South gallery on June 24, 2025 in London, England.,Image: 1014651108, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Lounis Tiar/Avalon
i don’t know her, but i didn’t think she came off too bad here (or at least not as bad as others). i don’t know if she has a history of bashing the sussexes or not. there’s the usual hypocrisy and blind spots when it comes to comparing harry and meghan to the rest of the royal family, but at least in this excerpt, she’s not attacking anyone. and i do love that she calls vaping febreze smoking. vaping is so vile. also-is it against british law for royal/aristocratic men to have pants that fit? i like the vaguely vintage vibes of the dresses in the last photo, but the men’s pants are terrible.
That’s because Brits don’t wear “pants”. They wear trousers. (insert laughing face).
I‘ve also never heard of her until I recently stumbled over a speech from her, at YouTube “the most compelling argument against tech in schools” and that speech resonated with me a lot (and I don’t even have children). I also compared it to the kind of mumbling Kate usually does on those topics.
She has a history of passive-aggressively dismissing what H+M went through, pretending that the Windors are stoic and uncomplaining (and as she claims here, hardworking and don’t court publicity despite all the evidence to the contrary), and implied that H+M are the opposite of the “absolutely brilliant royals” (she has name-checked Charles, William and Kate as being SO great and kind in the past).
She also memorably claimed that the Windsors don’t have a problem with actresses because SHE is one and always felt “welcomed and embraced” by them – throwing shade at M after Spare came out and H outlined the extent to which William and other royals disparaged actresses, “Hollywood” and “Americans”, implying that H+M were liars. She’s a sly one.
She loss me when she said the Windsor’s are hard working and do not seek fame. Had to giggle
She lost me when she said the kings trust was the biggest engineer for social mobility in the Britain. I accept that the King’s Trust has done some good work but ‘the biggest engineer for social mobility in Britain’? Don’t be ridiculous!
It’s sort of sad if it actually is the biggest engineer for social mobility in Britain. I have no idea either way but yikes.
I mean, it’s right there in the name: KING’S Trust. They’re telling you right up front that there’s a guy who supposedly knows what’s best for everybody because he has special blood. It’s very much in his best interest to not let the peasants rise TOO high, no?
@miranda
It seems you have absolutely no idea what the King’s Trust (formerly Princes Trust) does. Maybe you should educate yourself? Think of Charles what you will, but his trust did and still is doing so much good for underprivileged teens.
She also lost me when she said they had no choice. Sure they do. They can say no thank you to it all & go out on their own & earn a living. They might need to go back to school & get a degree that better prepares them for earning a living. Or, you know, just sell off some of their stuff & live off that money forever.
She sort of redeemed herself when she name-checked Charles, Anne, and Sophie, but didn’t mention Kate or William.
If the monarchy is total hell for the people in it, then maybe it’s not fit for purpose anymore. At least not as it is now. The King’s Trust seems okay but isn’t it an almost independent entity at this point? Is William actually in line to take that over one day or has Charles set it up to function completely on its own?
The Windsors absolutely do have a choice. They could advocate for the end of the monarchy.
Oh they could but I can’t see them going that far, lol.
Those poor sausages. They get millions in inherited wealth. Bilk government agencies, like the NHS, for millions more, live in actual castles and palaces, have one of the world’s finest collections of just about everything, and can wear a tiara to bed if so inclined.
People might not know that Sophie’s sister is the most popular TV presenter in the UK. She was a good comic actress but seems to have been made to give it up and spends a lot of time fame-adjacent. Maybe a bit of projection going on.
Claudia (who is fantastic) is her half-sister. I’m not sure how much they grew up together.
I love British panel shows, and Claudia always makes me laugh when she appears on them. I remember Sophie making passive-aggressive comments about Meghan in the past, and I was kinda worried that Claudia might be the same way. So you’re saying I can enjoy her without guilt?
I can see the part about fame. The royals aren’t born looking for fame; they’re born famous. And then they’re stuck on QEII’s treadmill of “I have to be seen to be believed” and the competition of who gets to be seen the most.
Freddie’s eyes in that top picture! He still looks like a vampire to me. Good to see a mention of the late Thomas Kingston. I still think there is a linkage between his death and Keen’s disappearance in early 2023. Hopefully all of those details will see the light of day one of these days.
Sophie would have a point about the Windsors, except for one gaping hole in her logic:
Anyone can choose to walk away.
Kids born into the family are at their parents’ mercy, but once they’re adults, any one of them up to and including the heir to the throne, or the monarch, can simply bow out and go lead their life.
So why do they stay if it’s such torture? Could it be because they enjoy the fame, the status, the luxury, the obscene wealth? Gee, I wonder.
Ask Harry how easy it was to walk away. He and Megan are still being abused daily for his decision.
You’re right @idlesatcranky that they can walk away but I agree with Eurydice that it’s not that simple. And that’s what bothers me. Kids born into the monarchy are splashed all over the papers but its okay bc they have security. But then when they grow up, if they don’t want to be working royals or aren’t allowed to be working royals, then they no longer get security. After living an entire life in a fishbowl of public consumption and gaining notoriety and possible death threats, they are left without security in their day to day lives when up till that point they had it every day. They are going to be left needing to find some serious money to fund security. So idk it doesn’t seem that easy to leave considering the current system in place. I don’t have an answer except maybe it shouldn’t be this way or exist at all.
Your last sentence says it. If you’re going to have a monarchy, then you need to have a monarch. And if one abdicates, then the next one in line gets the hot potato and then the next one. In the meantime, they all have to be in the fishbowl just in case. They only way to break the cycle is to get rid of the system entirely.
About Americans, she said: “ They’re happy for their friends when they do well.”
Ummm, isn’t that how you should treat your friends??? And what the actual f*ck is wrong with British culture that they can’t say the same?
As a Brit, I’d say that if you have good friends of course they are happy for you. But, a lot of people will be jealous under the surface. I get the impression that there is a lot more opportunity in America for everyone so it is more of a meritocracy, here it feels much more stacked against you – especially once you factor in social class (the opposite of any meritocracy), socioeconomic divides (e.g. North/South) and racism. So imo most people are probably generally unhappy with their positions in life because there is much less social mobility and smaller improvements in life quality overall that are realistic, and it comes out in half-baked congratulations.
tl;dr – they should be, but reasons
Having lived and worked in Britain, she is absolutely right that this is a prime “general” difference between Americans and Brits, if an oversimplification. It’s kind of shocking and unsettling when it sinks in. Of course on the regional, street, and individual level, mileage varies.
Maybe now she understands why Harry and Meghan made the decision to leave. It doesn’t seem like she knows any of the senior royals very well which is understandable because Harry told us that the only sees each at royal events.
He’s so far down the line they probably need a name tag to remember who he is? Of course it’s all good, she’s not close enough to them to see the messy dramas.
Their lives are total hell? really? its torture?
look I wouldnt want to be a royal, i dont think the tradeoffs are worth it, but there ARE tradeoffs that can serve to soften the blow. there’s an immense amount of wealth and privilege that goes along with the bad parts and certainly W&K seem to enjoy those perks.
But regardless – she’s going to call their lives total hell in the same interview where she talks about Sophie returning from a trip to Sudan and working with surgeons who operate on violently raped TODDLERS??? I mean…..some perspective Sophie.
(and yes I think we all know that you can be rich and miserable, and there are serious toxic elements to the house of windsor, but again….perspective.)
Some perspective, Sophie, is making me laugh. I do think it’s hell in it’s own way. But in context to violently raped toddlers, no. And that’s the problem with trying to embiggen people while simultaneously getting people to empathize with the royal plight.
She talks about not vaping but she sounds like she’s on something when she says “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”.
Words fail me …
The argument about whether or not they can walk away is moot when it comes to Kate, who absolutely was not born to it but relentlessly stalked her way in.
“The flipside is they worship money and fame a bit too much.”
— Says the actress who married in to the BRF
“Then when you do get a job, you suddenly go into cafés and say, ‘Do you like children? If so, for the next four months, just come to my house.’ I find anyone and everyone. The poor kids have different people almost every day.”
— You’re joking, right? Right?
“I truly think my communist grandfather would be convinced by my arguments in favour of the royal family.”
— You should probably stop smoking whatever it is you’re smoking.
Same. When she said that about money I’m like hmmm, what a hypocrite lol.
Living 7 years in America- but still have a typical colonial mindset 🤦♀️ . No wonder they were kicked out of the country centuries ago.