Royal Family member bags leading role in period drama from the creator of Downton Abbey

From reality TV to period drama - working members of the Royal Family are certainly growing fond of the hustle and bustle of the TV world. This time around it's Lady Frederick Windsor, an established actor, who's the Royal Family member in Belgravia Season 2.  We'll bet you recognize her from these hit shows.

• Lady Frederick Windsor, whose working name is Sophie Winkleman, is to play a lead role in the upcoming series of Belgravia.
• Lady Frederick is married to the son of Prince Michael of Kent and is often seen with the inner circle of the Royal Family.
• In other royal news, Princess Margaret's affair with gardener 17 years younger who was 'just following his heart.'

The man behind one of the best period dramas in history, Downton Abbey, is well-versed in scripting members of the aristocratic elite. However, it's not every day that Lord Julian Fellowes manages to bag an actual Lady to play a Lady - like in this instance.

Lady Frederick Windsor, who's married to Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Prince Michael of Kent, will be playing the part of Lady Rochester - a lead character in the second season of the show.

Per the Daily Mail, Richard Eden reports, "the 42-year-old is, I'm told, set to play the part of aristocrat Lady Rochester, which is one of the pivotal roles in the story."

This is far from a little foray into the acting world as the Lady, whose professionally known by her pre-marriage name Sophie Winkleman, has starred in many high profile roles.

Perhaps she's most recognizable for playing the one and only Big Suze on the hit comedy series Peep Show, which aired on UK's Channel 4. She's also starred in hit shows including Sanditon, Two And A Half Men, Death in Paradise, Poirot, and This is Going to Hurt.

Sophie married Lord Frederick Windsor back in 2009 and the pair share two children. Her half-sister is a well-known UK TV presenter, Claudia Winkleman - best known for working on Strictly Come Dancing.

One of the luxuries of being a non-working member of the Royal Family is having a career and even being able to be outspoken about one's opinions and relationships. Actor Sophie has grabbed both the former and the latter opportunities by the horns - as evidenced in an article she wrote for the Spectator in December 2022.

"I cherish my growing closeness to the senior members of the Royal Family," said the actor, "who are so hardworking, uncomplaining, and brave in the face of relentless and brutal media attention, criticism, lies, undermining and fictional TV programs – and always so good to me that I’m honored to know them."

It's fair enough to make the assumption that the TV show in question is The Crown and that we shouldn't expect Sophie to star in the hit series any time soon.