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.
