British actress Sophie Winkleman has claimed the day-to-day lives of senior royals are “total hell’, opening up in a new interview about the pressures that come with being part of the monarchy.
The 45-year-old actress, who married Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009 and became part of the extended royal family, told The Times that the reality of life behind palace gates is far from enviable.
“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 said.
“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.”
Winkleman, best known for playing Big Suze on the cult comedy Peep Show, went on to praise the relentless work ethic of senior royals including King Charles III, Princess Anne and Duchess Sophie of Edinburgh.
“The senior royals work really hard with thousands of charities in Britain and around the world, behind the scenes as well as front-facing,” the mother-of-two said.
She described The King’s Trust as the “greatest engineer for social mobility” in Britain, and noted Princess Anne “does nearly 500 engagements” each year.
“The Duchess of Edinburgh has just come back from Sudan, meeting surgeons who operate on violently raped toddlers- that is traumatic, serious work,” she added.
Winkleman also reflected on her own unexpected entry into royal life, revealing she didn’t grow up in a household that aspired to monarchy.
Her paternal grandfather, she noted, was a committed Marxist.
“I truly think my communist grandfather would be convinced by my arguments in favour of the royal family,” she said.
The actress’ comments follow her recent admission that she still cringes over her royal wedding, particularly her hairstyle, which she described as “so disgusting” that it still upsets her husband.
Winkleman met Frederick, now 46, on New Year’s Eve in 2006 when they shared a taxi home from a party in Soho.
Their 2009 wedding at Hampton Court Palace drew around 400 guests, including Princess Eugenie, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, actress Jane Asher, Lady Helen Taylor and musician Bryan Adams.
But despite the lavish setting, Winkleman doesn’t look back on the day fondly, pointing to her hair and the gown chosen by her mother-in-law, Princess Michael of Kent.
“My hair was so disgusting and Freddy still gets upset about it,” she told The Telegraph earlier this year.
“It was just disgusting. And my mother-in-law chose my dress, which was very sweet and puffy, but I looked barking.”
The dress, a silk design with lace sleeves and a three-metre train, was created by Anna Bystrova of Roza Couture, a designer long favoured by Princess Michael, who reportedly had significant influence over the event.
“She sort of took it all over and I actually didn’t mind at all,” Winkleman added.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.skynews.com.au ’
