Duchess of Cambridge's uncle sentenced for punching wife in face after drunken row
Gary Goldsmith hopes to patch things up with his wife through joint counselling and says he remains "devoted" to her.
Tuesday 28 November 2017 16:56, UK
The uncle of the Duchess of Cambridge has been fined 拢5,000 and handed a community order after striking his wife with a "left hook" to the face during an argument.
Gary Goldsmith knocked Julie-Ann Goldsmith to the ground after she accused him of taking drugs during a drunken fight outside their home in Wimpole Street, central London, in the early hours of 13 October.
The 52-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of assault by beating and was sentenced on Tuesday at Westminster Magistrates' Court following the incident, which took place after the couple attended a charity event.
Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot branded the defendant a "nasty drunk" and added: "You were making your way by taxi.
"Both had been drinking and the taxi driver listened as you argued. Your wife accused you of taking drugs and leaving her alone for most of the evening.
"You called her a nothing and [a] whore."
Goldsmith, the younger brother of Kate Middleton's mother, was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 20 sessions of rehabilitation.
He was also ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge and £85 towards court costs.
At a previous hearing, prosecutor Kate Shilton said taxi driver Daniel Shepherd described what Goldsmith threw at his wife as a "left hook".
It was said to have knocked her out for about 15 seconds.
Mrs Goldsmith said she was now suffering from panic attacks in a victim impact statement.
Jane Humphryes QC, defending, said both parties were intoxicated and that alcohol may have had more of an effect on Goldsmith as he was on a "charity diet", with limited food and no alcohol.
Goldsmith said he lashed out in a "spontaneous" reaction to being struck after Mrs Goldsmith was seen by the taxi driver "slapping her husband to the face".
Ms Humphryes suggested Goldsmith may have avoided court and been given a caution if he had not been related to royalty.
She said: "Had it not been for his high profile, it would have been dealt with in that way.
"Had he been almost any other person in that police station out after a charity event, this never would have come, not just to the attention of the Crown Prosecution Service, but in this case, to the courts and to the media."
Goldsmith indicated he remained "devoted" to his wife who he loved "very much" and hoped to patch things up through joint counselling.