The Queen’s cousin faces being jailed for up to five years after carrying out a violent sex attack inside his ancestral home at Glamis Castle.
Simon Bowes-Lyon, 34, forced his way into a sleeping woman’s room and assaulted her during a travel PR weekend he was hosting at the 16,500-acre estate in Forfar.
Bowes-Lyon, who is the Queen’s cousin, twice removed, carried out a sustained attack on the 26-year-old woman which lasted more than 20 minutes.
The wealthy aristocrat was granted bail and placed on the sex offenders register as sentence was deferred for reports yesterday.
Sheriff Alistair Carmichael also ordered Glamis Castle to be assessed for its suitability for a tagging order.
Bowes-Lyon, who is known as Sam and described himself to police as a farmer, is a great-great nephew of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.
The multi-millionaire landowner, who walked behind Prince William in The Queen Mother’s funeral cortege as a 15-year-old, stood with his head bowed as the charge was read to him.
He admitted that on February 13 last year at Glamis Castle he sexually assaulted a 26-year-old woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
He admitted repeatedly pushing her onto a bed and launching a sex attack.
Fiscal depute Lynne Mannion told the court: “The accused is the Earl of Strathmore. He resides at his ancestral home of Glamis Castle. He divides his time between the castle and a property in London.”
She said Glamis Castle had been chosen to host several people over a weekend for a feature for a luxury lifestyle magazine. They enjoyed gin tasting, helicopter rides, shooting and a tour of the castle.
On the first night, the victim noticed no-one was talking to Bowes-Lyon during dinner and she engaged him in conversation. He took her outside to show her one of his classic cars.
The following evening there was a black tie dinner and, after she went to bed, Bowes-Lyon carried on drinking before arriving uninvited at her room at 1.20am.
Mrs Mannion said: “She was asleep and was woken by knocking at the door.
“She thought something was wrong so she got up. It was pitch black. The second she opened the door he pushed his way in and pushed her onto the bed.
“He was very drunk and smelled of cigarettes. She went into the en-suite to get away but the accused followed her, stopped her closing the door, and lit a cigarette. She squeezed past and went back to the bedroom.”
The court heard that in the bedroom he went on to grab parts of her body. The woman shouted for help as Bowes-Lyon told her he was going to have sex with her.
Bowes-Lyon then told her “she could not tell him what to do in his own home” as she told him to leave her alone.
After more than 20 minutes she eventually managed to get him out of her room – in his private wing – and sent a series of messages asking her colleagues and boyfriend for help.
Bowes-Lyon emailed an apology to the woman after being told to by the publisher and he offered another apology for his behaviour in court.
The flashy aristocrat, who boasts about his love of fast cars and holidays with reality TV stars, was named in Britain’s 50 Most Eligible Batchelors by Tatler in 2019.
Counsel John Scott QC said: “He is truly sorry for what he accepts was shameful conduct.”
