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 succumb to the ‘bridezilla’ stereotype when she married Lord Frederick Windsor that she gave no thought to her hairstyle and walked down the aisle with a ‘disgusting’ hairdo, she has admitted.  

The Peep Show star, who became Lady Frederick Windsor on 12 September 2009, was so dissatisfied with her hair on her big day that it was the first thing she mentioned to her husband-to-be when she was walking towards him.

And, rather than reassuring his bride, Lord Frederick, the son of Queen Elizabeth II‘s first cousin Prince Michael of Kent, couldn’t help but agree and wonder ‘what on earth’ she had done, Sophie told Tatler. 

In a February 2024 interview republished to coincide with her 44th birthday, Sophie looked back to her wedding 15 years ago and joked how her ‘hair and being such a moron’ was her enduring memory of the occasion. 

She said: ‘I was so determined not to be a bridezilla, I didn’t even work out my hairstyle and I cannot tell you how disgusting it looked. 

Sophie Winkleman married Lord Frederick Windsor at Hampton Court Palace on 12 September 2009. While Sophie has revealed that she regretted her ‘disgusting’ hairstyle, onlookers surely agreed that she made a beautiful bride 

‘Coming up the aisle, the first thing I said when I saw Freddie was, “I’m so sorry about the hair.” He said, “Yes, what on earth have you done?”’

Sophie wore her hair down and in a side-parting with the ends loosely curled for her wedding, which was held at Hampton Court Palace. 

While Sophie – apparently her own worst critic – was clearly dissatisfied with how her hair looked, onlookers surely agreed that she made a stunning bride. 

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

The mother-of-two has previously told how she had very little input 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 pals there but basically it was full of faces I’d never seen before.

‘My mother- in-law, Princess Michael of Kent, took full personal charge of it all and did it brilliantly, including what dress I was wearing.’

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

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

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

Sophie also joked that she and Lord Frederick ‘went full Magic FM’ at their wedding reception, with her friend Bryan Adams singing his hit ‘Heaven’ for the couple’s first dance. 

Mother to two girls, eight-year-old Isabella and Maud, 10, Sophie reflected on the challenges of bringing up children.

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

She has, however, managed to keep smartphones our of her daughters’ hands. 

Sophie, who is ‘really good friends’ with her in-laws and the wider Windsor family, has explained how she was supported by her ‘very dear friend’ King Charles when she sustained serious injuries in a car crash in November 2017. 

For three days, doctors did not know if Sophie – who broke her foot and three bones in her back – would be paralysed. 

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 her family received two cooked meals a day prepared by his Clarence House chef. 

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

Sophie and her ‘very dear friend’ King Charles at Ascot in 2023. She has revealed how he provided much-needed support in the aftermath of 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, with Judy Greer and Ashton Kutcher

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

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

The newly-married Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor moved to Los Angeles after their wedding.

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

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