Feb. 23 (UPI) — A British court on Tuesday sentenced Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin to prison for sexually assaulting a woman at his family castle in Scotland last year.
Simon Bowes-Lyon, the Earl of Strathmore, was sentenced in Dundee Sheriff Court.
He pleaded guilty last month to a charge that he attacked the woman at his ancestral home, Glamis Castle in Angus, Scotland, a year ago.
Bowes-Lyon, 34, said he was drunk at the time of the assault, which occurred in a bedroom at the castle. The woman was sleeping when she was assaulted.
Bowes-Lyon told the court Tuesday there’s “no excuse” for his actions.
“I did not think I was capable of behaving the way I did, but have had to face up to it and take responsibility,” he said, according to the Evening Standard.
“Over the last year, this has involved seeking and receiving professional help as well as agreeing to plead guilty as quickly as possible.
“My apologies go, above all, to the woman concerned but I would also like to apologize to family, friends and colleagues for the distress I have caused them.”
Officials said the woman repeatedly tried to ward off Bowes-Lyon’s advances and continues to deal with trauma from the assault.
Bowes-Lyon is a great-great-nephew of Queen Elizabeth the queen mother and a first cousin, twice removed to Queen Elizabeth II. His father, Michael Bowes-Lyon, is the queen’s first cousin, once removed.
Glamis Castle is the seat of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne and was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth, the queen mother.
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