Sophie Winkleman reveals she was so determined not to be a ‘bridezilla’ on her wedding day to Lord Frederick Windsor that she ended up at the altar with ‘disgusting’ hair

Sophie Winkleman was so determined not to fall into the ‘bridezilla’ stereotype when she married Lord Frederick Windsor that she paid no attention to her hair and walked down the aisle with a ‘disgusting’ hairdo, she admitted.

The Peep Show star, who became Lady Frederick Windsor on September 12, 2009, was so unhappy with her hair on her wedding day that it was the first thing she said to her future husband when she walked up to him.

And instead of reassuring his bride, Lord Frederick, the son of Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, couldn’t help but agree with him and wonder “what on earth” she had done, Sophie said Tatler.

In a February 2024 interview republished to mark her 44th birthday, Sophie reflected on her wedding 15 years ago, joking that “her hair and how she acted like such an idiot” was her abiding memory of the occasion.

She said: ‘I was so determined not to be a bridezilla that I didn’t even think about my hair and I can’t tell you how disgusting it looked.

‘When I walked up the aisle, the first thing I said when I saw Freddie was, “I’m so sorry about the hair.” He said, “Yeah, what the hell did you do?”‘

Sophie wore her hair loose and parted to the side, with the ends loosely curled, for her wedding, which was held at Hampton Court Palace.

Although Sophie – apparently her own biggest critic – was clearly unhappy with the look of her hair, those onlookers would have agreed that she was a beautiful bride.

Sophie met her husband, who is 53rd in line to the throne and a second cousin of King Charles, 17 years ago at a New Year’s Eve party in Soho.

The mother of two previously revealed she had little say in her wedding, which was organised by her mother-in-law, Princess Michael of Kent.

She explained: ‘I didn’t know anyone at my wedding. I had my best friends there, but it was actually full of faces I’d never seen before.

‘My mother-in-law, Princess Michael of Kent, took complete personal charge of everything and did it brilliantly, even down to the dress I wore.’

The dress in question was a sequined silk gown with a sweetheart neckline and a three-meter train by Anna Bystrova of Roza Couture, one of her mother-in-law’s favorite designers.

Sophie, also known as Lady Frederick Windsor, chose a yellow belted dress to attend Wimbledon with her husband this year

Sophie wore her hair down and parted to the side with the ends in loose curls. Her dress was by Anna Bystrova of Roza Couture

Sophie also joked that she and Lord Frederick had been ‘all Magic FM’ at their wedding reception, with her boyfriend Bryan Adams singing his hit ‘Heaven’ during the couple’s first dance.

Sophie is the mother of two daughters, Isabella, eight, and Maud, ten. She reflects on the challenges of raising children.

She told Tatler: ‘I didn’t realise until I had children that I have all the authority of a goldfish. I say “no” and they just laugh.’

Still, she managed to keep the smartphones out of her daughters’ hands.

Sophie, who is ‘very good friends’ with her in-laws and the rest of the Windsor family, told how she was supported by her ‘very dear friend’ King Charles when she was seriously injured in a car crash in November 2017.

For three days, doctors did not know whether Sophie, who had broken her foot and three bones in her back, would become paralyzed.

While Queen Elizabeth offered Sophie the use of the swimming pool at Buckingham Palace to help her heal, King Charles – then the Prince of Wales – ensured that her family received two meals a day, prepared by his chef at Clarence House.

Sophie was born on 5 August 1980 in Primrose Hill, London, the daughter of her father Barry Winkleman, a publisher, and her mother Cindy Black, an author.

Sophie and her ‘very dear friend’ King Charles at Ascot in 2023. She has revealed how he provided her with much-needed support after her car crash in 2017

Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor pictured on the seventh day of Wimbledon this year

Actor Sophie (right) appeared in Two and a Half Men as Zoey, starring Judy Greer and Ashton Kutcher

The Cambridge-trained actor is the half-sister of presenter Claudia Winkleman.

However, Sophie and her sister had ‘very separate lives’ as children, as Claudia, who is nine years older than her, lived with her mother, former newspaper editor Eve Pollard.

The newlyweds Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor moved to Los Angeles after their marriage.

The couple spent seven years there, with Sophie, who played Big Suze in the TV comedy series Peep Show, continuing her acting and writing career.

She played Zoey, the girlfriend of Ashton Kutcher’s character Walden, in the American sitcom Two and a Half Men and has roles in Death in Paradise, Sanditon and This is Going to Hurt.