Lady Frederick Windsor thinks the lives of senior royals are "total hell"

Sophie - who is married to Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent - told The Times newspaper: "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.

"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."

The Two and a Half Men actress - who has daughters Maud, 12, and nine-year-old Isabella with her spouse - got married in 2009 but her lack of "bridezilla" instinct and focus on a planned move to Los Angeles meant she took a back seat and let her mother-in-law organise her nuptials, which took place in front of 400 guests at Hampton Court Palace.

She said: "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."

But Sophie thought Princess Michael did a "brilliant" job, though she thought she looked "barking" in the Anna Bystrova for Roza Couture gown that was chosen for her.

She said: "[The dress was] very sweet and puffy, but I looked barking."

And the actress also hadn't considered her hairstyle and as a result, her tresses were "disgusting".

She added: "Freddie still gets upset about it."

The former Peep Show star believes the royals face a lot of unfair criticism when they work "really hard" for good causes.

She said: "The senior royals work really hard with thousands of charities in Britain and around the world, behind the scenes as well as front-facing. There's no getting away from the fact they add huge prestige and heft to whatever cause they're supporting.

"The King's Trust is the greatest engineer for social mobility in Britain. Princess Anne does nearly 500 engagements per year. The Duchess of Edinburgh has just come back from Sudan, meeting surgeons who operate on violently raped toddlers - that is traumatic, serious work.

"I truly think my communist grandfather would be convinced by my arguments in favour of the royal family."