I Love A Royal Wedding!

Almost a month ago, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent's eldest child, Lord Frederick Windsor married his fiancee Sophie Winkelman at Hampton Court Palace.

Lord Frederick is 31st in line for the throne (which means the chances of his being King are basically none). Still he had to ask permission from the Queen to get married according to The Royal Marriage Act of 1772. His father had to give up his place in the line of succession for marrying a Catholic, however Freddy was raised Anglican.

The couple apparently turned down a "life-changing" sum of money from a celebrity magazine to cover the wedding. Seriously, we're talking like over $1M but instead they chose to keep it private for their 400 guests. Frankly I would have taken the money since the wedding was on the cover of HELLO! magazine anyway.

The bride, Sophie Winkelman, is an actress who played Princess Eleanor in the short-lived series The Palace. She also appeared inas Big Suze, in the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show. She's also a graduate of Cambridge University where she read English at Trinity Hall. She also played the older Susan in the film The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

While the Duke of York's daughter Princess Eugenie was a guest, none of the senior members of the royal family were in attendance. Not the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, or William and Harry. Kind of surprising since Prince Michael is the Queen's first cousin. However, the groom's uncle the Duke of Kent and his Duchess were there along with their children. The bride has met the Queen and other members of the family, and has gotten used to appearing at public functions involving the Royal Family.

Unfortunately, apart from their wedding venue, there are no royal palaces in the couple's future. The groom's parents now have to pay over 120,000 pounds a year for their apartment in Kensington Palace (it used to be something like 10 pds a week) and they've sold their country estate Nether Lypiatt. Princess Michael has long been a controversial member of the Royal Family. She's been accused of plagiarism, and adultery, and she's prone to sticking her rather large feet in her mouth at any given moment. You can read more about Mommy Dearest here at Scandalous Women.

Had his great-grandfather, George V, not revised Royal styles and titles in 1917, Lord Frederick would have been born HH Prince Frederick of Kent. He was educated at Eton College, and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he gained a 2:1 in classics. He has also modeled in a campaign for Burberry; he has also modeled for Tomasz Starzewski. A sometime music journalist (notably for Tatler magazine), he planned to become a solicitor working in entertainment law.

The groom has certainly straightened himself out from the guy who admitted doing drugs. In 1999, Lord Frederick admitted experimenting with cocaine. "I admit it is true," he said. "It is very difficult to avoid getting into this sort of thing when you move in these circles, but I don't blame anyone else for the incident.". He now works for JP Morgan, has been transferred to the LA office since his wife has a role on a NBC mid-season replacement series. No doubt they will hang out with the British colony in LA which consists of Lord Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, and the Duke of Manchester. You can read more about the wedding here. The bride's new name is Lady Frederick Windsor, but for acting she will still go by Sophie Winkelman.