Peep Show star Sophie Winkleman has revealed her favorite members of the British royal family and the Queen's touching gesture after she almost died in a car crash after marrying Lord Frederick Windsor.
The actress, who rose to fame as Big Suze in the cult British comedy, spoke with particular affection about her relationship with King Charles and the Queen in a new interview for Tatler.
She praised the monarch for his hard work, calling him a “very dear friend,” praising his work ethic and saying he regularly stays up until four in the morning writing letters.
Sophie, 43, the half-sister of Strictly host Claudia, said she has developed close relationships with the entire Windsor clan, but added that she 'loves' the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The revealing interview also showed how the family stood by her after a horror crash in 2017.
Peep Show star Sophie Winkleman spoke with particular affection about her relationship with King Charles and the Queen
Lady Sophie Winkleman and King Charles III attend day five of Royal Ascot in June
Sophie Winkleman rose to fame as 'Big Suze' in the hit comedy series Peep Show
Sophie married the king's second cousin in 2009 and the couple have two children: Maud, ten, and Isabella, seven.
Speaking about the close relationships she has had with the royals since marrying into the Windsor family, she said: '[I’m] They're really good friends with all of them – that's a really stupid thing to say, but behind the camera they're really nice, smart, friendly people.
'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 are so busy and don't live in London so I don't see them much.'
The daughter-in-law of Prince Michael of Kent paid special tribute to King Charles, saying: 'I'm spending some time with him. You see how he works all day, eats quickly and then disappears until about four in the morning to write letters.
'He thinks so many things are important and comes up with brilliant solutions.'
But in 2017, Sophie's new life was turned upside down after she was involved in a car accident that left her fearing she was in her final moments.
She was a backseat passenger in a chauffeur-driven car when another vehicle crashed into it after she swerved to avoid a deer.
Sophie married Lord Frederick Windsor, the king's second cousin, in 2009
Lord Frederick Windsor, Isabella Windsor, Sophie Winkleman and Maud Windsor arrive at the Princess of Wales's Christmas carol concert in December
Sophie said she loves the Windsors, including Zara Tindall (pictured smiling with Sophie at Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee)
The car she was riding in was thrown into the air before crashing, causing life-threatening injuries.
She said: 'I was completely lucid the whole time.
“I assumed I was a goner and you just think in a strangely unromantic way of thinking, 'Okay, these are my last few minutes. I have to do something practical.'
'So I thought things like, “I hope things stay well with my parents to help Freddie take care of the kids, I hope he meets someone nice.”
Paramedics managed to rescue her from the vehicle and rushed her to hospital, where they discovered she had suffered a broken foot and two broken bones in her back.
It took three days before it was confirmed that she would not remain paralyzed.
Sophie said the rehabilitation period, which lasted over a year, was “miserable” and she was unable to pick up her daughters.
Sophie said she only started to properly recover from the car crash when the Queen allowed her to use her swimming pool at Buckingham Palace.
Lord Freddie Windsor and Sophie Winkleman accompany the Tindalls to the memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh
Sophie said: 'I love Sophie Edinburgh, Sarah Chatto, Zara, the York girls, Tim and Princess Anne, Fergie, all the Kents and Gloucesters'
But the royal family rallied behind her and Prince William asked an air ambulance colleague to 'take good care of her'.
Sophie, then Duchess of Wessex, visited her in hospital and Prince Charles provided her family with two meals a day, prepared by his chef at Clarence House.
However, it was Queen Camilla's kind gesture that Sophie remembers with particular fondness.
She told how after a year of physiotherapy she was still 'in so much pain, it wasn't working'.
But during a party Camilla attended, she asked Sophie how she was doing.
'She said, 'We can't have that. You have to get in the water.'
'She told us that horses with broken backs went swimming, so she let me use her swimming pool at Buckingham Palace. That's why I got better. It was so typically thoughtful.”
Sophie has now made a full recovery and returned to her acting career, most recently in a cameo role in Wonka.
See the full article in the February issue of Tatler available via digital download and on newsstands from Thursday.