Gary Goldsmith, 52, who made a fortune from a recruitment business, is often described as the ‘black sheep’ of Kate’s family
The Duchess of Cambridge’s uncle has been spared jail after hitting his wife during a drunken argument despite a judge saying he acted ‘like a nasty drunk’ and had showed no immediate remorse.
Gary Goldsmith, 52, struck his wife Julie Ann with a powerful ‘left hook’ which sent her tumbling on to the pavement after the pair attended a charity auction at a private members’ club.
The couple began arguing in a taxi on their way home from a charity auction at Home House, in central London, on October 13.
After getting out of the cab Mrs Goldsmith slapped her husband on the face and he responded by punching her with a ‘left hook’, the court heard.
Goldsmith, estimated to be worth £30million after making a fortune from a recruitment business, initially told the police he had pushed his wife hard with his left hand, but denied using a hook.
The court heard he was apologetic for his actions and was ‘humbled by what he had done’.
The millionaire was given a 12 month community order and ordered to undergo 20 rehabilitation sessions to ‘challenge your attitude to this offence’.
He was also fined £5,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £170 and legal costs of £85.
The CPS dropped the application for a restraining order on Goldsmith.
In a victim impact statement read to the court earlier Mrs Goldsmith said the attack left her feeling ‘extremely anxious and stressed’.
She said: ‘I am suffering with panic attacks, I am not going out, only to work, food shopping and to walk my dogs.
‘I find it very hard to face people and I am a prisoner in my own home.’
Goldsmith, 52, used a closed fist to attack Julie-Ann Goldsmith outside their home in Wimpole Street, central London, at around 1.20am on October 13 this year
Goldsmith pleaded guilty to attacking wife Julie-Ann outside their London home on October 13
The businessman, who is the younger brother of Kate’s mother Carole Middleton, is often described as the ‘black sheep’ of Kate’s family.
He was exposed in a tabloid newspaper story in 2009 in which he was shown preparing cocaine at his Ibiza villa – nicknamed ‘La Maison de Bang Bang’ – and boasting of his connections with the royal family.
The revelations strained relations with William and Kate, but they thawed sufficiently for him to be invited to their wedding two years later. Goldsmith also attending Pippa’s wedding earlier this year.
He married his fourth wife, formerly Julie-Ann Brown, in 2012.
At the police station, Goldsmith told officers he had pushed his wife hard with his left hand, but denied using a hook
The couple went to a charity auction before Mrs Goldsmith was hit. They were pictured in this image posted on social media shortly before the incident
Born in Stockport and brought up on a council estate in Cheshire, Mrs Goldsmith is a convicted fraudster who siphoned off £250,000 from the luxury car firm where she worked as a clerk and spent the money on luxuries including a Rolex watch and a Mercedes sports car.
At her trial at Chester Crown Court in 1996 she admitted five charges of theft and asked for 52 similar offences totalling £244,749 to be taken into consideration.
She was given a suspended sentence after the judge was told that she had endured a troubled and deprived childhood.