Queen’s cousin jailed for sex attack in royal castle
Aristocrat gets 10 months after drink-fuelled assault on guest, 26
A COUSIN of the Queen was jailed yesterday for sexually assaulting a woman at his ancestral home.
Simon Bowes-Lyon, the Earl of Strathmore, pushed his way into the 26year-old victim’s room and subjected her to a sustained, drink-fuelled attack at Glamis Castle.
The aristocrat’s ‘force, aggression and persistence’ left the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffering from nightmares and needing therapy.
Bowes-Lyon, aged 34 and known as Sam, was jailed for ten months at Dundee Sheriff Court with his name put on the register of sex offenders for ten years.
He had pleaded guilty to the sexual assault which took place last February at his 16,500acre estate near Forfar in Angus.
Bowes-Lyon, a first cousin twice removed of the Queen and a great-great-nephew of the late Queen Mother, had previously issued a public apology to his victim.
But Sheriff Alistair Carmichael told him there was no alternative to custody. He said: ‘She had no sexual interest in you and had done nothing that could be interpreted by you to the contrary.’
The incident happened over a weekend when Glamis Castle was hosting guests for a gin tasting, helicopter rides and shooting.
On the first night, the woman noticed no one was talking to Bowes-Lyon during dinner and she engaged him in conversation.
A black-tie dinner followed the next evening and, after the victim went to bed, Bowes-Lyon carried on drinking before arriving uninvited in her room at 1.20am.
Lynne Mannion, prosecuting, said: ‘He was very drunk and smelled of cigarettes. He told her he wanted to have an affair.’
Bowes-Lyon then tried to pull up the woman’s nightdress and grabbed her breast. It took her more than 20 minutes to get him out of her room after which she sent a series of messages asking the other guests for help.
Bowes-Lyon tried to get into her room again but she was saved by a guest who came to her aid. The woman fled the castle in the morning and flew home to immediately report the matter to police. Both Police Scotland and the Metropolitan Police Service were involved in the investigation.
The court heard she had ‘cognitive behavioural therapy’ in the wake of the attack and still has nightmares more than a year on.
Bowes-Lyon emailed an apology to the woman and he gave another apology for his behaviour yesterday in court.
His counsel, John Scott QC, asked the court to impose a noncustodial sentence and said his client had expressed genuine remorse and accepted that drink was no excuse.
‘He does not wish to be treated better than anyone else and nor should he be. Nor should he be treated any worse,’ he said.
Mr Scott added: ‘Character references speak to his otherwise exemplary behaviour and a picture of some of the challenges he has had in life that might not necessarily be widely understood or known – rather assumptions are made about his privilege.’
He told the court that BowesLyon had childhood issues that he had not wished to discuss with social workers. However he had since been to counselling to try to understand his behaviour.
But, passing sentence, Sheriff Carmichael said: ‘The woman was afraid to the extent that she locked the door and wedged a chair under the handle. She was left shaking. Even now, one year on, she still has nightmares and feels panic because of being sexually assaulted by you.
‘It was made worse that you were her host. You assaulted her in the face of repeated protestations to stop and you repeatedly prevented the complainer from getting away.
‘The force, aggression and persistence you used are concerning.
‘The sentence must reflect the gravity of this crime and the need for punishment to adequately express society’s disapproval.’
Bowes-Lyon is the eldest son of Michael ‘Mikey’ Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorn, and Isobel Weatherall.
His parents divorced in 2004 and he succeeded his father in 2016. His father was seen as the ‘head of the Queen’s Scottish family’ and he walked with his son behind Prince Charles and Prince William at the Queen Mother’s funeral at Westminster Abbey in 2002.
Glamis has been the seat of the Bowes-Lyon family since 1372. The Queen Mother grew up, and gave birth to Princess Margaret, there. More than 100,000 visitors tour the 130-room castle every year.
‘Used force and aggression’