<p id=”par-1_62″>Many people believe that Meghan Markle is the only actress who married into Britain’s royal family, but that’s not the case. In fact, there is another woman who did and lived in Los Angeles while she appeared on a popular American TV sitcom, and one of her children was even <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/prince-harry-meghan-markles-daughter-lili-isnt-first-royal-baby-born-california.html/”>born in California</a>, just like Princess Lilibet. That woman is Sophie Winkleman.</p>
<p id=”par-2_25″>Styled as Lady Frederick Windsor, she married Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/queen-elizabeth-ii-dead-british-monarch-dies-96.html/”>Queen Elizabeth II</a>‘s first cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, in 2009. </p>
<p id=”par-3_58″>If you watched <em>Two and a Half Men</em> during Seasons 9 and 10 after Ashton Kutcher joined the cast, then you’ll remember his character’s British girlfriend Zoey, who was played by Winkleman. While she worked on the show, Winkleman and her husband resided in LA and their daughter, Maud, was born at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in 2013. </p>
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<p id=”par-4_62″>When Meghan met Prince Harry, she was still <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/meghan-markle-getting-residual-checks-suits-surprise-streaming-success.html/”>acting on the show <em>Suits</em></a>. Because Winkleman and the Duchess of Sussex have those careers in common, she gave her thoughts when the Sussexes stepped down. Winkleman also got brutally honest in a recent interview about the lives of the senior members of the royal family, describing them as “total hell” and “torture.” </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-winkleman-took-a-shot-at-meghan-after-she-and-harry-stepped-down”>Winkleman took a shot at Meghan after she and Harry stepped down</h2>
<p id=”par-5_53″>After the duke and duchess left the royal family in 2020, they went on the attack as they peeled back the curtain of their lives as working royals, claiming things weren’t what they seemed. They continued to air out Harry’s relatives’ dirty laundry in interviews, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/4-claims-in-prince-harry-meghan-markles-netflix-docuseries-debunked.html/”>a Netflix docuseries</a>, and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/prince-harrys-memoir-spare-now-become-one-most-discarded-books-time.html/”>the prince’s memoir</a>. </p>
<p id=”par-6_40″>While the senior royals are bound to the family’s “never complain, never explain” mantra, Winkleman is not, so she spoke about the couple and threw in a dig at Meghan, saying: “Not all actresses who join the Firm run off.”</p>
<p id=”par-7_23″>Winkleman also recounted her experience and interactions with the royals over the years, which haven’t been the same as what Meghan alleged. </p>
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When This British Royal Starred on ‘Two and a Half Men’ No One Knew Who She Was </a>
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<p id=”par-8_51″>“I’ve been incredibly welcomed with open arms by all of them. I haven’t had a single negative experience,” she previously told <a href=”https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1e2c9708-3a44-11eb-9017-abc630b6062b?shareToken” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Times</a>. “The [now-King Charles] has been wonderful, Prince William’s been heaven. They’d never tell me off at all if I wanted to play some [racy] role. Everyone’s looked after me.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-why-winkleman-said-the-lives-of-the-well-known-royals-are-total-hell”>Why Winkleman said the lives of the well-known royals are ‘total hell’</h2>
<p id=”par-9_71″>Meghan painted a hellish experience of her time as a royal. Well, now Winkleman is agreeing that the well-known royals’ lives are “hell” but not for any of the reasons the duchess did. In a new candid interview, Winkleman explained that she feels for the senior royals because, unlike her choice and Meghan’s decision to become Hollywood actresses, the royals did not choose fame and were just born into it. </p>
<p id=”par-10_33″>“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,” she told <a href=”https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/celebrity/article/sophie-winkleman-husband-royal-family-5tfx77pg6″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Times</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-11_78″>Winkleman continued: “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.”</p>