Gary Goldsmith was spotted thrashing tennis balls days after he punched his wife with a ‘left hook’ and knocked her out, MailOnline can reveal today.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s uncle was in court on Tuesday where he admitted knocking Julie Ann Goldsmith unconscious during a drunken row outside their house on October 13.
He was due in court on October 31, after being charged with assault by beating but his defence lawyers went instead to ask for ‘caution’ for the offence could be considered – which was eventually rejected.
Exclusive pictures reveal that the following day, November 1, he was out playing tennis in his local park in London.
At times Kate’s Uncle, whose sister Carole is her mother, looked tired and was seen holding his back and knee.
Gary Goldsmith plays tennis in his local London park on the day after he missed a court appearance after punching his wife
During a break in play Mr Goldsmith held his hands to his face on the day after he missed a court appearance for punching his wife
At times the Duchess of Cambridge’s uncle looked tired as he crouched and touched his left knee
Goldsmith also felt his lower back after one rally, suggesting he was suffering a twinge of pain
Goldsmith takes off his tracksuit top and bottoms revealing tattoos on his ankle and arm
Two weeks later he was back in court where he admitted punching his wife, who was not in court.
He will be sentenced at a later date and could face a restraining order to stay away from his wife, suggesting they may no longer be together.
Gary Goldsmith 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 businessman, who is the younger brother of Kate’s mother Carole Middleton, will be spared jail after pleading guilty to assault by beating.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s uncle Gary Goldsmith arrives at court before pleading guilty to an assault by beating charge. He attacked his fourth wife (both pictured on Tuesad after a night out in London
Mr Middleton had tried to get a police caution to avoid court action but prosecutors refused
But a prosecutor yesterday asked for a restraining order to be imposed on Goldsmith to ban him from contacting his wife.
Such a move suggests the marriage is over, although Mrs Goldsmith, 47, was spotted wearing what appeared to be a wedding ring as she walked her two Chihuahuas – Cheech and Keela – on Monday.
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
Details of the attack were outlined at Westminster Magistrates’ Court as Goldsmith sat impassively in the dock wearing a blue three-piece suit and a bronze-coloured tie.
The couple began arguing in a taxi on their way home from a charity auction at Home House, a private members’ club 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’, taxi driver Daniel Shepherd told police.
He said that Mrs Goldsmith was left ‘unconscious and not moving’ on the ground. She remained with her eyes closed for about 15 seconds before waking up and staggering to her feet, the court heard.
Prosecutor Kate Shilton said: ‘Both parties are drunk, they had been drinking through the evening. [Mrs Goldsmith] cannot recall how it happened but her husband has punched her in the face with a closed fist.
‘She then becomes upset, starts crying and uses some railings to assist her.’
Julie-Ann is his fourth wife. He is often referred to as the black sheep of the Middleton family
The attack happened outside the couple’s home in central London on October 13
Mr Shepherd said he confronted Goldsmith and said: ‘Mate, you cannot do that.’
When Goldsmith turned towards him in an aggressive manner, the taxi driver added: ‘What are you going to do, start on me now?’
After the incident, Goldsmith was described as ‘panicked and walking in and out of the house, trying to get her to go back in the house’.
Mrs Goldsmith asked the taxi driver to call the police and she was taken to hospital by ambulance.
Mrs Goldsmith was knocked unconscious and sat crying after being punched, a witness said
Photographs of Mrs Goldsmith shown to the court showed her with a bruise on her left cheek, a grazed right elbow and scratches to the fingers on her right hand.
Goldsmith, estimated to be worth £30million, initially told the police he had pushed his wife hard with his left hand, but denied using a hook.
A police officer who interviewed Goldsmith said he had apologised and was ‘humbled by what he had done’, the court heard.
Assault by beating which carries a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment. But chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said she would not jail him and said she was looking to impose a community order when she passes sentence next week.
She said: ‘I am really looking at how to protect this lady from this man in the future. [The attack] was aggravated by the fact it is a domestic situation with a breach of trust. There may be alcohol issues, they were both very drunk.’
Goldsmith was yesterday granted conditional bail and ordered to see a probation officer.
The millionaire, who made a fortune from a recruitment business, is often described as the ‘black sheep’ of Kate’s family.
The couple, pictured previously with Mr Goldsmith’s daughter Tallulah, argued in a taxi
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.
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.