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A judge has said that Kate Middleton’s uncle Gary Goldsmith acted “like a nasty drunk” when he physically assaulted his wife following a drunken night out, the BBC reports.
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On Nov. 14, Goldsmith, the younger brother of the Duchess of Cambridge’s mother Carole, admitted to punching his wife Julie-Ann Goldsmith in the face at their home in London, leaving her unconscious.
At the time of the incident, the couple had just been brought home in a taxi and were both intoxicated. The driver of the taxi told police that he saw Julie-Ann slap her husband, who lashed out with a “left hook” that knocked his wife down, leaving her with her eyes closed on the ground for roughly 15 seconds. The taxi driver said Julie-Ann then awoke, stood up shakily and told him to call the police, and he obliged.
Goldsmith has received a 12-month community order and was ordered to attend 20 rehabilitation sessions, according to The Mirror. Goldsmith was also fined $6,600 and ordered to pay court costs.
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“Mr. Goldsmith began to shout at her and both parties were drunk, having been drinking throughout the evening,” prosecutor Kate Shilton said of the assault during the initial hearing, The Evening Standard reports.
“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,” Shilton added. “She was knocked straight to the floor and hit the back of her head on the floor.”
The Standard claims that Goldsmith has been dubbed the “black sheep” of the family but quotes him as saying: “People like to think I’m a bad boy. I’m not really.”
Gary Goldsmith was a guest at the 2011 nuptials of his niece Kate Middleton and Prince William, as well as the May 2017 wedding of his other niece, Pippa Middleton — where recently-engaged Prince Harry and his American fiance Meghan Markle were also guests.
