Duchess’s ‘nasty drunk’ uncle fined for punching wife in face

THE Duchess of Cambridge’s uncle has been fined £5,000 and given a community order for assaulting his wife during a drunken row in which she accused him of taking drugs.

Gary Goldsmith (52) admitted knocking Julie-Ann Goldsmith to the ground outside their home in Wimpole Street, central London, at around 1.20am on October 13.

He was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday, after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to one count of assault.

Sentencing him, Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot described him as being a “nasty drunk”.

She told him: “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 whore.”

Goldsmith was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 20 sessions of a rehabilitation order requirement.

He was also fined £5,000 and ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge, and £85 towards prosecution costs.

Previously prosecutor Kate Shilton told the court Mrs Goldsmith was knocked to the ground after her husband threw what was described by their taxi driver, Daniel Shepherd, as a “left hook”. In a victim impact statement, Mrs Goldsmith said she had been left feeling “extremely anxious and very stressed, and suffering panic attacks”.

Jane Humphryes, defending Goldsmith, said that in the leadup to the charity event, her client had been on a “charity diet”.

She explained: “The defendant and his wife, it seems to be agreed by both parties, were intoxicated at the time.

“The defendant himself had been on a six-week charity diet with limited food and no alcohol.”

She added that this meant the alcohol may have had more of an effect on him than it would otherwise have done.

The court heard the couple got into a heated argument because Mrs Goldsmith “felt she had been left alone during the course of the evening”.

Ms Humphryes said: “Mr Goldsmith accepts that, on reflection, he concentrated too much on business and too little on her.”

She added Goldsmith accepted that he lashed out at his wife in a “spontaneous” reaction to being slapped in the face by his wife, as witnessed by the taxi driver.

Ms Humphryes told the court that at the police station it was suggested that if Goldsmith admitted hitting his wife he could be dealt with by way of a caution.

She continued: “Had it not been for his high profile, it would have been dealt with in that way.”

The court heard that Goldsmith is “devoted” to his wife whom he loves “very much”, and hopes that they will be able to reconcile with the aid of joint counselling.

Ms Humphryes said: “He is deeply ashamed and concerned about not only his behaviour but also the implications of the adverse publicity for everyone concerned.”

Goldsmith is the younger brother of the Duchess of Cambridge’s mother Carole Middleton, and attended the weddings of both Kate and her sister Pippa.

Gary Goldsmith leaving Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday