I've Been a British Royal Family Wife for 16 Years and This Is Why Life Inside The Firm Is Brutal, Thankless and Never-Ending Torture

Sophie Winkleman has become the unlikely truth-teller of royal life, describing the institution she married into as an existence defined by pressure, scrutiny and what she calls a "form of torture," OK! can reveal.

Sophie, 45, who wed 46-year-old Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009 after meeting the second cousin of King Charles during her acting career, has spoken openly about the realities she has witnessed over more than a decade inside the institution. Her reflections follow years of balancing a life as a television actress with her position as Lady Frederick Windsor, and arrive at a time when the family continues to be marked by internal strains due to former Duke and Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor being stripped of their royal titles over their links to s-- predator Jeffrey Epstein.

Sophie has long been known for her role as Big Suze in Peep Show and for her connection to her half-sister, U.K. Traitors host Claudia Winkleman.

She said while lifting the lid on her feelings about being a senior part of "The Firm": "The more I get to know the Royal Family, the more I get that their lives are total h--- and that level of unasked-for fame is a form of torture. None of them went on Pop Idol or something to be famous. To have that sort of blinding spotlight in your face from when you're born, not knowing quite whom you can trust, not knowing if someone's going to betray you, people writing lies about you the whole time, is just brutal."

"I feel for them all. I don't think a life with that much scrutiny and pressure is remotely healthy, but they have no choice."

One longtime household source said: "Her comments will strike a nerve because they are, frankly, true. Sophie may not be senior royalty, but she's seen how relentless the pressure is, and she's sympathetic in a way not everyone is."

Another adviser said: "Sophie has always understood that the spotlight is something you can step into or out of as an actor – but royals don't get that option. Her point about it being unasked-for is exactly what many of them feel but rarely say."

And another royal source said: "Some in the palace see her honesty as refreshing. Others think it's unusually blunt. But no one doubts she's speaking from real empathy."

Sophie's remarks echo broader concerns among figures linked to the family.

Mike Tindall, who married Princess Anne's daughter Zara Tindall in 2011, has also spoken about the oddity of life adjacent to royalty. He said he would refuse any royal title offered to him, saying: "I would definitely turn that down."

Former rugby player Mike has also emphasized the financial realities of life inside the fold, noting: "Everyone thinks that just by marrying Zara, that means it's all fine and dandy. But that doesn't stop the fact that you need a job."

Beyond her reflections on royal life, Sophie has used her platform to champion children's welfare and has emerged as a vocal critic of the expanding use of technology in schools. Earlier this year, she warned about the risks associated with artificial intelligence in classrooms.

Speaking at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference, she said there were discussions about "AI being pumped into our classrooms with children's data being harvested to better improve the AI."

She added: "The fact that AI will soon outperform humans in many areas means schools should be backing away from the neurological junk food of digital learning, alert to the fact that it's counterproductive to learn anyway from an instantly ageing system, and teaching their pupils the deeply human skills, which AI will have a harder time replacing."