A cousin of the Queen who sexually assaulted a woman at a castle has been freed from prison after serving half his sentence.
Simon Bowes-Lyon, who is the Earl of Strathmore and the Queen’s cousin twice removed, drunkenly groped the woman and pushed her on to a bed.
The 34-year-old had forced his way into her room at Glamis Castle, where he lives, before launching the 20-minute attack.
A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service said: “We can confirm that Simon Bowes-Lyon has been released from jail.
“He had served five months of his 10 month sentence.”
Victim still has nightmares after Glamis Castle attack
He was jailed in February for sexually assaulting the 26-year-old woman in her bedroom during a promotional weekend he was hosting at his ancestral home in 2020.
He pleaded guilty to a sexual assault charge before Sheriff Alastair Carmichael at Dundee Sheriff Court earlier this year.
His bid in March to be granted bail to appeal his jail sentence was denied.
Bowes-Lyon was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
At his sentencing Sheriff Carmichael told Bowes-Lyon that his victim still suffered nightmares as a result of the assault.
He said Bowes-Lyon had repeatedly ignored his victim’s pleas during the attack.
The sheriff said: “Even now – one year on – she still, occasionally, has nightmares and feels panicked because of being sexually assaulted by you.
“This has also had an impact on her emotional wellbeing.”
He told Bowes-Lyon that the sentence “must reflect the gravity of the crime” and that a community disposal “would not meet these requirements”.
The court was told previously that Bowes-Lyon repeatedly assaulted the victim and tried to pull off her nightdress during the 20-minute attack.
The court heard that the woman fled the castle the morning after the attack on February 13, 2020 and flew home to the London area to report the matter to police.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Carmichael said the attack on the woman was so serious that there was no alternative to a custodial sentence.
Lawyers acting for the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne failed in a bid to secure bail for him following a short virtual hearing in March.
John Scott QC appeared on Bowes-Lyon’s behalf during the hearing.
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