While Meghan Markle’s Hollywood aspirations seem to have faded, the acting career of one member of the royal family is on the rise.

Lady Frederick Windsor Reportedly cast in the lead role in the second series ITV period dramas Belgravia.

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She is to play the aristocratic lady Rochester in the glamorous show written Downton Abbey created by Julian Fellowes.

Given that she is the daughter-in-law of Prince Michael of Kent, a first cousin who once moved to King Charles IIIshe must be well prepared to portray a representative of the aristocracy.

But she is better known by her stage name Sophie Winkleman, who came to television attention as Big Sues in the Channel 4 sitcom Peep show.

In a way, Sophie, 42, is the Strictly Come Dancing host’s half-sister Claudia Winkleman – and Megan41, have a similar life path.

Both privately educated women became successful actresses before they married The royal family and spoke out on social issues.

And their husbands both had wild reputations, including taking cocainein youth.

Also, they both moved to Los Angeles shortly after tying the knot.

But so far the former Costumes star Megan gave up acting after marriage Prince HarrySophie was able to keep her dreams of show business alive.

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And unlike Meghan, who has been very critical of the royals, Sophie praised the firm for making her feel so welcome.

Just before Christmas, Sophie wrote in an op-ed for The Spectator: “I treasure my growing closeness to senior members of the royal family who are so hard-working, steadfast and brave in the face of relentless and brutal media attention, criticism and lies. , subversive and fictional TV programs – and always so good to me that I am honored to know them.’

Some people saw her comments as a sly dig at the Harry, Meghan and Netflix drama Crown.

I treasure my growing closeness to senior members of the royal family who are so hardworking, steadfast and brave in the face of relentless and brutal media attention, criticism and lies

Sophie Winkleman

Sophie’s article was published a week after it was published Netflix documentary series about Harry and Meghan.

When Sophie participated in the serious accident in november 2017, who nearly killed her, and told how king charles and Prince William rallied and offered their support.

The incident happened on a dark evening in Essex when her chauffeured car was hit by another car which had swerved to avoid a deer.

Sophie was trapped in the back upside down and remembered thinking she was going to die.

Emergency services managed to free her, but she broke two bones in her back and shattered her foot.

For three days, she didn’t know if she would be paralyzed for life before she found out she could walk again.

Sophie said: “Prince Charles correctly sensing that there would be chaos at home, so he asked his cook to take care of us, not him.

“So our lunches and dinners were cooked at Clarence House and then delivered for weeks on end while I was in hospital and then disabled at home.

“It literally saved our bacon because my dear husband—well, he’s a good fryer, but that’s about it. The kids would have cholesterol coming out of their ears if their diet was left to him. It was a wonderful way to help.”

Sophie sued the insurers of the other vehicle for £200,000, claiming her injuries had prevented her from being able to work.

Acting dreams

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Born in affluent Primrose Hill, north London, to wealthy publisher Barry Winkleman, Sophie always knew she had a happy life.

Her mother Cindy Black was a children’s author and her parents paid for Sophie to attend a £21,000-a-year school for girls in the City of London.

As older sister Claudia is seven years older than her and lives with her mum Eva Pollard, they have mostly led ‘separate lives’.

Sophie pursued an acting career early on, joining the famous Footlights troupe while studying English at Cambridge University and then the National Youth Theatre.

In 2002, she was nominated for BBC Best Newcomer for her role in The Walking Dead, and three years later starred in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

However, it was her role as the chic girlfriend of Jeremy, Robert Webb’s character in Peep Show, that made her famous.

A royal novel

She met her 43-year-old husband Freddie in a nightclub.

He grew up in Kensington Palace with his distant cousins ​​Princes Harry and William.

Like Harry, former party-goer and Burberry model Freddie has admitted to using cocaine in his youth.

It’s very hard to avoid getting hit by things like that when you’re running in circles like that

Freddie Windsor

In 1999, at the age of 22, a member of the royal family was photographed in a London nightclub.

He said: “It’s very difficult to avoid things like that when you’re driving in these circles, but I don’t blame anyone for the incident.”

Oxford-educated Freddie tried his hand at music journalism before landing a great job as a financial analyst at banking giant JP Morgan.

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Sophie and Freddie married at Hampton Court in September 2009 and moved Los Angeles soon after in hopes that it would help her acting career.

And she wasn’t worried that she’d have to give up sex roles just because she’s a Windsor.

Sophie said: “They have all been incredibly welcoming to me with open arms. They would never have turned me down if I wanted to play any role.”

They would never have turned me down if I wanted to play a role

Sophie Winkleman

It was a fruitful time when Sophie played the girlfriend of Ashton Kutcher’s character in the sitcom Two and a Half Men.

She also became a mum, breaking new ground as her nine-year-old daughter Maud was the first royal child to be born in the United States.

The couple also have a seven-year-old daughter, Isabella.

While in the US, they attended glamorous events, including a pre-Oscar dinner in 2015.

When they returned to London after seven years across the pond, Maud attended the same school Prince George in Battersea. The royal children are said to be close friends.

She is often spotted at events such as Wimbledon, has attended the Queen’s late Christmas dinner and a number of royal weddings.

In recent years, Sophie has appeared in the ITV drama Sandyton and the JK crime drama The Punch.

Sophie, who lives in upscale Chelsea, spoke of the need for the privileged to share the wealth and called her father a “socialist”.

She is closely involved with several charities – The Big Issue, School-Home Support, Age UK, Children’s Surgery Foundation and Cure.

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