The Duchess of Cambridge’s uncle Gary Goldsmith has pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife.
On Tuesday, November 14th the 52-year-old admitted at Westminster Magistrates’ Court that in the early hours of 13 October he threw a “left hook”and punchedJulie-Ann Goldsmith outside their home in Wimpole Street, London.
Prior to the attack, Duchess Kate’s Uncle had been arguing with his wife-of-five-years in a taxi on their way home from a charity event.
A sombre-looking Gary arrives at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 14 November 2017.
Gary snapped a photo with his wife on the night of the attack, uploading it to his public Twitter account.
The court heard from Prosecutor Kate Shilton that the taxi driver witnessed Julie-Ann slap her husband, which saw Gary punch her in retaliation.
“An argument took place during the taxi ride, Mr Goldsmith began to shout at her and both parties were drunk, having been drinking throughout the evening,” Prosecutor Kate claimed.
“Mrs. Goldsmith said she couldn’t recall how it happened but her husband punched her in the face with a closed fist to the left side of her face. She was knocked straight to the floor and hit the back of her head on the floor.”
The BBC report that “Mrs Goldsmith had ‘fallen backwards’ after the punch and the taxi driver believed she had been knocked unconscious.”
From the driver’s accounts, Julie-Ann lay on the floor for about 15 seconds before she “staggered to her feet and [was] crying.'”
The couple have been married for five years.
The proceedings revealed that Gary seemed “panicked” and “got aggressive” when the taxi driver questioned his actions.
Gary initially denied hitting his wife, but he’s reportedly changed his tune and is very apologetic.
At the time of the crime, the authorities reported, “Police in Westminster were called to an address at 01:24hrs on Friday 13 October following reports of a domestic incident.”
“Officers arrested a 52-year-old man on suspicion of domestic assault. He has been taken to a central London police station for questioning. A woman found injured was taken to hospital.”
Gary and his daughter Tallulah at Pippa Middleton’s wedding in May.
The Evening Standard confirmed Gary was released on bail and will be sentenced on November 21.
They reported the court’s Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said, “I am excluding custody and looking at a community order. But I am really looking at how to protect this lady from this man.”
Gary Goldsmith is the millionaire younger brother to Carole Middleton, notorious for being the black sheep of the Middleton clan.
After being exposed as a playboy involved in hard drugs in 2009 who proudly bragged about his royal connections, Prince William cut ties with Mr Goldsmith in 2009, only making an exception by inviting him to the royal wedding in 2011.
The London local, who also attended Pippa’s weddings, believes he is misunderstood.
“People like to think that I’m this black sheep, a bad boy. I’m not really,” he mused in 2013.
“I’ve had my moments – I’m not totally innocent – but am I disliked by my family? No, that is simply not true. I’ve got a good heart and I care about people. We have never fallen out.”
