The Gist
British royal family member Sophie Winkleman, also known as Lady Frederick Windsor, has an up-close-and-personal view of what it’s like to be in the royal fishbowl.
Though she isn’t in the spotlight as much as some senior royals, she said in a new interview that their lives are “total hell.”
“I don’t think a life with that much scrutiny and pressure is remotely healthy, but they have no choice,” she said.
Being a member of the royal family may involve tiaras and castles and opulence—but it’s not totally all it’s cracked up to be, a member of the family said in a new interview.
Lady Frederick Windsor—also known as Sophie Winkleman, her name before marrying into the royal family—is the wife of Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Prince Michael of Kent, who is Queen Elizabeth’s first cousin. The two married in 2009, and Sophie has been a part of the royal family for 16 years now.
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Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman on June 24, 2025
Though she may not have the level of fame that a senior royal like Kate Middleton may have, she has witnessed it firsthand and said in a new interview with The Times that “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.”
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King Charles and Sophie Winkleman on September 16, 2025
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Sophie Winkleman and King Charles at Royal Ascot on June 20, 2025
“None of them went on [U.K. reality music competition show] Pop Idol or something to be famous,” she continued, adding, “I don’t think a life with that much scrutiny and pressure is remotely healthy, but they have no choice.”
Of those like Prince William and Prince Harry who were born into the royal fishbowl, Sophie added, “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.”
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Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman at Wimbledon on July 7, 2024
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Sophie Winkleman and Lord Frederick Windsor on September 15, 2025
Before marrying into the royal family, Sophie—like Meghan Markle—was an actress, and she continues to take on projects up to the present day. She and her husband now share two daughters and regularly join the royal family at events like Royal Ascot over the summer and the Princess of Wales’s Christmas carol concert each December. Her royal wedding 16 years ago was “full of faces I’d never seen before,” she told The Times, adding “I didn’t know anyone at my wedding.”
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Sophie Winkleman at Wimbledon on July 13, 2025
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Sophie Winkleman at Royal Ascot on June 21, 2024
In a previous interview with The Telegraph, Sophie spoke about her affection for the royal family, telling the publication, “Family isn’t always brilliant, but this lot are very sweet. I love all of them.”
Read the original article on InStyle