Kate’s black sheep Uncle Gary is back in the money

THE Duchess of Cambridge could be forgiven for periodically wishing her black sheep uncle, Gary Goldsmith, would fade into obscurity — never more so than 16 months ago.

For that was when Gary — the younger brother of Kate’s mother, Carole — suffered his most ignominious moment yet: being fined £5,000 and sentenced to a 12-month community order after pleading guilty to punching his fourth and current wife, Julie-Ann.

But the irrepressible 53-year- old has just given a convincing demonstration of his resilience.

Undaunted by his conviction on one count of assault, he has knuckled down at his networking business — the Recruitment Directors Lunch Club (RDLC) — and delivered a startlingly good performance, turning a deficit of £46,344 in 2017 into a profit of £118,415 for 2018.

The £165,000 improvement in his fortunes was disclosed yesterday in accounts filed at Companies House.

‘We’re pleased with the business expansion,’ says Gary, who missed just one meeting during a recent fiveday bout of flu. ‘We’re aiming to double our success over the next year.’

RDLC hosts about 20 ‘lunches and brunches’ each year for paying members at restaurants in and around London. According to the website, the events, hosted by Gary and co-founder Dean Kelly, are kept ‘lively’ by presentations from industry experts and keynote speakers.

Gary, who has an estimated £30 million fortune — notwithstanding three divorces — attended the weddings of both Kate and Pippa. This was perhaps a particular demonstration of loyalty by Kate.

In 2006, she and Prince William stayed at Gary’s Ibiza villa — at the time known as Maison de Bang Bang — but were obliged to cancel a return visit in 2009 after Gary was filmed by undercover reporters chopping up lines of what was reputedly cocaine.

In the event, Gary was more warmly — and widely — welcomed at Kate’s 2011 wedding than he could have dreamed of.

‘Camilla made a beeline for me,’ he recalled later. ‘She was absolutely adorable. She stretched out her hand and said: “It’s Gary, isn’t it?” ’

That support seems to have buoyed him through recent challenges.

‘Evidently, it’s not important for me to be loved by everyone,’ he remarked on social media earlier this week, ‘but by being truly authentic I seem to do very well!’