A Hollywood actress who married into the royal family says the attention Meghan Markle receives would be her idea of 'complete hell'

• "Two and a Half Men" star Sophie Winkleman married into the royal family years before Meghan.
• The actress told Insider she wouldn't be able to deal with the intrusion the duchess faces.

British actress Sophie Winkleman joined - and left - palace life years before Meghan Markle did.

Winkleman married Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Queen Elizabeth II's first cousin Prince Michael, in 2009. The couple moved to LA the day after their ceremony, where Winkleman found success as a television actress.

She starred as Ashton Kutcher's love interest, Zoey, in "Two and a Half Men" before moving back to the UK in 2013.

The actress told Insider she doesn't understand the comparisons made between herself and the Duchess of Sussex.

Winkleman says she 'wouldn't be able to cope with the level of intrusion' that Markle faces

Winkleman is perhaps the only other person who can understand what it's like to be a British royal living in California.

The Daily Mail wrote that Winkleman could provide the "blueprint" for the Sussexes' second child, since she's the only British royal who had one child born in the US and one born in the UK. The actress gave birth to her first child, Maud, in LA in 2013. Her second child, Isabella, was born in London in 2016.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their first child, Archie Harrison, in London in May 2019. Their second child, a baby girl, is due to arrive in the summer. The family currently reside in Santa Barbara.

But despite the parallels between the two women's lives, Winkleman says they are "terribly different people."

"I don't think you can compare us. She's on a humongous, mega, global scale, and that would be my idea of complete hell," the actress told Insider. "I try to help my beloved causes at a very sort of roots level. I try and do it just by spreading the word organically through the people I know."

"But I wouldn't be able to cope with that level of intrusion for one minute. I've never been on Facebook, Twitter, any of it. I don't like the thought of it," she added.

Winkleman said she didn't have to deal with that same level of intrusion because most people in the entertainment industry had no idea who she was while filming "Two and a Half Men."

Since she used her maiden name instead of the royal family's last name - Windsor - Winkleman managed to keep her royal identity secret.

Winkleman and her husband moved back to the UK to be closer to their family after the birth of their daughter, Maud, in 2013.

Although she isn't a senior working royal, Winkleman still has some royal responsibilities, including royal patronages and official events with the family.

The couple hasn't spent much time with the royals in the past year due to the country's lockdown restrictions.

It was recently announced the Queen's 95th birthday parade at Buckingham Palace will be canceled this year, which Winkleman described as a "massive disappointment."

"It's a joyful thing to be able to celebrate the Queen's birthday because she's very beloved," Winkleman said. "But it's probably not hugely safe for that many people to gather. Thousands of people come and watch that, so it's very responsible of them to not allow it to happen this year."