Meet Sophie Winkleman, the actress mum who is 'really good friends' with her royal relatives

Before marrying into the British royal family, Meghan Markle was told by the late Queen Elizabeth II that, if she wanted to, she would be free to carry on as an actress instead of taking on full-time royal duties alongside her husband.But Meghan, later given the title Duchess of Sussex, said goodbye to her former career after marrying Prince Harry, who was then sixth-in-line to the British throne.Had she chosen to continue working as an actress following the royal wedding in 2018, Meghan would have found herself in good company with another female star to marry into the House of Windsor nine years earlier: Sophie Winkleman.READ MORE: Crown Prince breaks silence after stepson charged with assaultWinkleman, who recently celebrated her 44th birthday on August 5 (the day after Meghan's birthday), married the King's second cousin in 2009.Becoming a WindsorLord Frederick Windsor is the son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, and sister to Lady Gabriella Windsor. He is related to the late Queen Elizabeth through his father.Following their wedding at Hampton Court Palace – most famous for being one of King Henry VIII's homes – Winkleman became known as Lady Frederick Windsor.She's not Lady Sophie – for her to be styled 'Lady Sophie', she would have to be the daughter of a duke, marquess, or earl.But outside of royal circles, she continues to be known by her maiden name, Sophie Winkleman.Winkleman looks back at her royal wedding with humour as her future mother-in-law Princess Michael of Kent planned the entire thing, including what dress she would wear – a gown by Anna Bystrova from Roza Couture.READ MORE: 'At 43, is Meghan finally on the path to post-working royal success?'"I didn't know anyone at my wedding," Winkleman told Tatler in February of this year."I had my best pals there but basically it was full of faces I'd never seen before."While many brides would cringe at not having full control of such an important day, Winkleman says her mother-in-law "did it brilliantly".But, looking back, there is one thing she would change – her hairstyle."I cannot tell you how disgusting it looked," she told Tatler."Coming up the aisle, the first thing I said when I saw Freddie was, 'I'm so sorry about the hair'. He said, 'Yes, what on earth have you done?' That's pretty much all I can remember about it."Canadian musician Bryan Adams performed at the wedding which wasn't attended by Queen Elizabeth, or any other senior royals including then-Prince Charles and the then-Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate or Prince Harry. Princess Eugenie was among the 450 guests.Reports at the time said the bride and groom were offered around £1 million from a celebrity magazine wanting to cover the wedding, rejecting the money and choosing to keep the day private. They later released a few photos from the day, for free.At 53rd in-line to the British throne Lord Frederick is not a working royal, but he and Winkleman are often at big royal family events including Trooping the Colour, weddings, church services and Royal Ascot.READ MORE: Why kings and queens are avoiding this royal weddingHe is a banker at JPMorgan Chase, based in London, and Winkleman is an actress in demand.Just days after their wedding, they relocated to Los Angeles because Winkleman had secured a role on the US comedy Two and a Half Men.Sophie the actressWinkleman, a Cambridge graduate, met Lord Frederick on New Year's Eve in 2007 when they were leaving separate parties in Soho but went to get into the same taxi."His very first words to me were, 'You're Big Suze, I love you!' I looked back at this ridiculously beautiful face and thought, 'Oh God. Hello, everyone. I'm going to be in trouble here'."'Big Suze' was the character she played in the British comedy series Peep Show, which Lord Frederick was a big fan of.For three seasons she was Lady Susan, the mistress of George IV in Sanditon, and Ashton Kutcher's girlfriend Zoey in Two and a Half Men, which saw her and Frederick live in LA for seven years.She's often cast as royals or well-to-do members of high society. In the 2023 film Wonka Winkleman was the 'Duchess' while in this year's Belgravia: The Next Chapter she played the 'Duchess of Rochester'. The series was a sequel to the widely popular Belgravia, by Downton Abbey's creator Julian Fellowes.Her acting career has never got in the way of her other life as a royal wife and mother.Raising a familyLord Frederick and Winkleman have two daughters: Maud, 11, and Isabella, eight. Maud was born in LA and the family moved back to London when she was a baby.Maud was included in the bridal party at the wedding of Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank in 2018 – along with cousins Prince George and Princess Charlotte – and both girls were bridesmaids when their aunty Lady Gabriella Windsor married Thomas Kingston (who tragically died in 2024 aged just 45).Her daughters both attended Thomas's Battersea, in London where George and Charlotte used to go, but she pulled them out for another school when it introduced iPads for them to use from the age of six.In 2023, Winkleman spoke to The Times about her decision saying: "This was announced in a proud – is this not exciting? – way and I immediately started looking for different schools. I have moved them twice now to get them out of tech-heavy schools."The internet is a toxic wilderness we're letting children stumble through without protection. The problem is that being online in any capacity is addictive as hell."Winkleman threw her support behind a parent-led campaign in the UK, backed by head teachers and experts, calling for the government to ban smartphones completely for under-16s and bring in "tobacco-style health warnings" on all smartphone packaging.She and her husband set aside an hour each day to read together as a family in the evening, favouring by authors including Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl."I have never joined any social media," she told The Times."I am also a bit old-fashioned, English and a dinosaur in that I think modesty is quite nice and I think it has just died. Instagram should be called 'My life is better than yours'."Her life-changing accidentIn 2017, Winkleman broke her spine when she was involved in a car crash on the way back from filming on set.She had to be cut free from the car and told Tatler she was "completely lucid throughout"."I assumed I was a goner and you just go into a strangely un-romantic mode of thinking, 'Right, this is my last few minutes. I've got to do something practical'. So I was thinking things like, 'Hope my parents stay well to help Freddie take care of the children, hope he meets someone nice...'"Physiotherapy left her "in so much pain – it wasn't working" and she was unable to pick up her children for a year.Then, Queen Elizabeth II intervened following a conversation at a function."She asked how I was and she said: 'We can't have that. You have to go in the water.'"She told us that when horses had broken backs, they swam, and so she let me use her pool at Buckingham Palace. That's the reason I got better. It was so typically thoughtful."Other senior royals came to her aide, helping Winkleman to make a full recovery.Then-Prince Charles asked his cook at Clarence House to send over two meals a day for months, Prince William, an air ambulance pilot, instructed his colleagues to "take good care of her" and Sophie, then-Countess of Wessex, was a frequent visitor when she was in hospital.The 'fun, clever, kind' royalsLady Frederick Windsor appears to have found the perfect balance between being an actress and representing the royal family, though she and Lord Frederick are not working royals and receive no public money.Winkleman is often photographed at royal events and is close with many members of the family.She told Tatler she was "really good friends with all of them – that's a really daft thing to say, but behind the camera, they're really fun, clever, kind people".Winkleman added: "I love Sophie Edinburgh, Sarah Chatto, Zara, the York girls, Tim and Princess Anne, Fergie, all the Kents and Gloucesters."I love Kate and William, but they're so busy and don't live in London, so I don't see them much."Speaking of King Charles, whom she called a "very dear friend", Winkleman added: "I spend a bit of time with him. You see how he works all day long, has a quick supper and then disappears until about 4am to write letters. He cares about so many things and he comes up with brilliant solutions."Winkleman is patron of several children's charities, something she admits she wouldn't be able to do if she was "just an actress".FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.