Queen's Cousin Jailed for Castle Sex Assault

A Scottish earl and distant cousin of Queen Elizabeth II is headed to jail following a sex assault at his ancestral castle. The Earl of Strathmore, 34-year-old Simon Bowes-Lyon, in January pleaded guilty to the February 2020 attack at Scotland's Glamis Castle—the childhood home of the Queen's late mother, where the Queen's sister, Princess Margaret, was born, per Page Six. A 26-year-old woman had been staying at the castle for a three-day public relations event when a drunk Bowes-Lyon forced himself into her room, pushed her down on the bed, and tried to pull off her nightgown, according to testimony heard in Dundee Sheriff Court, per the BBC. The outlet reports the attack lasted 20 minutes despite "repeated verbal and physical protestations" on the part of the victim.

"Once she'd finally managed to eject you from her bedroom, you returned to the door and pleaded with her to let you back in," Sheriff Alastair Carmichael said Tuesday, handing down a 10-month sentence, per the Guardian. He noted the woman had locked the door and wedged a chair under the handle. He said she still suffered nightmares. Bowes-Lyon—a great-great nephew of the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, making him the Queen's first cousin twice removed—apologized following his guilty verdict last month. "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, adding he was "receiving professional help." In addition to 10 months in jail, Bowes-Lyon will be listed as a sex offender for 10 years. (More royal family stories.)