Claudia Winkleman's surprise sovereign connection: How The Traitors host's sister Sophie married into the royal family and described their life as 'total hell'
The Strictly host, 53, who will step away from presenting duties after the Christmas special, is not the only familiar face in the Winkleman family.
She may be queen of The Traitors castle, but Claudia Winkleman has a connection to the Royal Family.
As some might not know, the Strictly host, 53, is not the only famous face in the Winkleman family.
Claudia's younger half-sister Sophie, 45, is an actress who married Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009, the son of Prince Michael of Kent and his wife Marie-Christine, known as Princess Michael.
Sophie is close with senior members of the Firm, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, and in November, the actress described life as a working royal as 'total hell' and a 'form of torture'.
'The more I get to know the Royal Family, the more I get that their lives are total hell and that level of unasked-for fame is a form of torture,' she told The Times.
Sophie added members of the Royal Family have had a 'blinding spotlight' thrust onto them from the moment they are born.
She may be queen of the Strictly dancefloor, but Claudia Winkleman has a connection to the Royal Family
Claudia's younger half-sister Sophie, 45, is an actress who married Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009, the son of Prince Michael of Kent and his wife Marie-Christine
'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,' she added.
Claudia and Sophie's father is publisher Barry Winkleman. He shares Claudia with his first wife, journalist Eve Pollard.
They divorced when Claudia was three and Barry went on to marry author Cindy Black, with the pair welcoming Sophie on August 5, 1980.
Yet while Claudia and Sophie grew up apart, it turned out that both loved performing, with Sophie becoming a film actress and script writer.