Another Royal Family Member Disproves Prince Harry and Meghan’s Claim About What the Duke’s Relatives Thought of the ‘Hollywood Actress’
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle first stepped down as working royals, no one had any idea that the couple would divulge the royal family’s private matters in the way they did. Meetings and conversations that Harry’s relatives thought would always be private were suddenly put out there for the entire world to digest.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex aired the royal’s dirty laundry out in public through televised interviews, podcasts, the prince’s memoir, and a Netflix docuseries.
In their docuseries, Meghan and Harry spoke about what the royal family thought of Meghan being a “Hollywood actress.” However, the duchess isn’t the first TV star to marry into the family and the woman who did before her insisted the royals did not bear any judgment against her.
What Prince Harry and Meghan said the royal family thought of the ‘Hollywood actress’
In the sixth episode of Harry & Meghan, the Duke of Sussex said: “I remember my family first meeting her being incredibly impressed. Some of them didn’t quite know what to do with themselves. So I think they were. They were surprised. They were surprised that such a ginger could land such a beautiful woman. And such an intelligent woman.
“But the fact that I was dating an American actress was probably what clouded their judgment more than anything else. Oh, she’s an American actress, this won’t last long.”
Meghan then added: “The actress thing was the biggest problem, funnily enough. There is a big idea of what that looks like from the U.K. standpoint — Hollywood — and it’s just very easy for them to typecast that.”
The royals welcomed another ‘Hollywood actress’ into the family
But what Meghan and Harry said ignores the fact that the royals already welcomed a “Hollywood actress” into the family before Meghan came along.
The Sussexes failed to mention that Sophie Winkleman, who many know from starring in one of the biggest American sitcoms when she played Walden Schmidt’s (Ashton Kutcher) British girlfriend Zoey on Two and a Half Men, insisted that the royals were always good to her.
Winkleman, now known as Lady Frederick Windsor, is married to Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousin Prince Michael of Kent. She’s been acting in television and movies for more than a decade. Some of her other TV and film credits include The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peep Show, The Palace, and Harry & Paul to name a few.
In fact, like Harry and Meghan do now, Winkleman and her husband lived in Hollywood while she was filming the sitcom. And their daughter, Maud, was born at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Winkleman took a shot at fellow ‘actress’ Meghan
Winkleman detailed her experience since joining Britain’s famous family and even though she is an actor who lived in Hollywood, she said the royals have always been very welcoming to her and aren’t judgmental about her career.
“I’ve been incredibly welcomed with open arms by all of them. I haven’t had a single negative experience,” she told The Times. “[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.”
Winkleman previously spoke about Meghan after she and Harry announced they were stepping down and leaving the U.K. and took a dig the former Suits star saying: “Not all actresses who join the Firm run off.”
