The Duchess of Sussex claims that Buckingham Palace used her to protect other members of the royal family. Video / Netflix
A member of the House of Windsor has broken their silence over Harry and Meghan’s explosive Netflix documentary.
Actress Lady Sophie Winkleman, who is married to the son of the Queen’s cousin, Lord Frederick Windsor, has become the first royal to address Harry & Meghan in an op-ed for a British newspaper.
The actress, known for her long-running role as Big Suze in cult sitcom Peep Show, made a swipe at the couple in a piece for The Spectator, praising the royal family for their “uncomplaining bravery” in the face of criticism.
“I cherish my growing closeness to the senior members of the royal family who are so hardworking, uncomplaining and brave in the face of relentless and brutal media attention, criticism, lies, undermining and fictional TV programmes,” she wrote.
Winkleman’s comments come a week after the second half of Harry & Meghan was released. Photo / Netflix
It’s not the first time Winkleman has defended her in-laws, telling The Times in 2020 as “Megxit” dominated headlines: “Not all actresses who join the Firm run off”.
“I’ve been incredibly welcomed with open arms by all of them. I haven’t had a single negative experience,” she told the publication at the time.
“The Queen’s been wonderful, Prince Charles has been wonderful, Prince William’s been heaven,” she said. “They’d never tell me off at all if I wanted to play some [racy] role. Everyone’s looked after me,” she added.
Lord Frederick Windsor, Sophie Winkleman, Lady Gabriella Kingston and Thomas Kingston attend the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral. Photo / WireImage
Neil Sean was a guest on The Story with Martha MacCallum last week and said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix show has been perceived as “fluff and nonsense” to people in the UK, and those “particularly within palace walls”.
MacCallum shared a clip of Harry in the series claiming his brother, Prince William, screamed and shouted at him when Harry decided to step away from royal duties in 2020 and move to California with Meghan Markle.
“It’s seen over here, and particularly within palace walls, as just fluff and nonsense,” Sean said.
“The bigger problem, Martha, is this: The continuation of the tissue of lies that, of course, Meghan [Markle] and Harry have presented about staff working within the palace. That’s the bigger problem.”
“Really, there’s no recollection of that particular text from William to Harry,” Sean said. “So what was on it? And why didn’t you show it to the camera? Is it really true is a question that a lot of people are asking over here.”
King Charles III and the royal family, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, have not publicly commented on the docuseries and have been conducting business as usual.
