Simon Bowes-Lyon, 19th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne explained

Simon Bowes-Lyon, 19th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne should not be confused with Simon Bowes-Lyon.

Honorific Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Birth Name:Simon Patrick Bowes-Lyon
Birth Date:18 June 1986
Birth Place:London, England
Parents:The 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Isobel Weatherall
Criminal Charges:Sexual assault
Criminal Penalty:10 months' imprisonment
Criminal Status:Released after serving five months
Term:27 February 2016 – present
Alias:Sam Bowes-Lyon
Lord Strathmore
Lord Glamis

Simon Patrick Bowes-Lyon, 19th and 6th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (born 18 June 1986), is a Scottish peer and landowner, the owner of estates based at Glamis Castle. He is also 17th Viscount Lyon, 19th Lord Lyon and Glamis, 26th Lord Glamis, 17th Lord Glamis, Tannadyce, Sidlaw and Strathdichtie, and 7th Baron Bowes, and from birth until 2016 was known as Lord Glamis.

The eldest son of Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and his first wife, Isobel Weatherall, he is a second cousin once removed of King Charles III, whose maternal grandmother was a Bowes-Lyon.

In 2021, Lord Strathmore pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman at his ancestral home, Glamis Castle,[1] and as a result served five months in prison.

Biography

Strathmore was born on 18 June 1986 into the Bowes-Lyon family.[2] His father, Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, was a politician, soldier, and business man, as well as a hereditary peer.[3] His mother is Isobel Weatherall, daughter of Captain Anthony Edward Weatherall. He attended Sunningdale School.[4] His parents divorced in 2004.[5]

Lord Strathmore is a great-great-nephew of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and thus a second cousin once removed of King Charles III. In 2002, he walked alongside his father and members of the royal family behind the coffin of the Queen Mother during her funeral.[6]

On his father's death on 27 February 2016, the then-Lord Glamis succeeded as 19th Earl.[3] In 2019, he was living at Glamis Castle.[7] Running the Glamis estate includes work with Reiver Travel, which arranges exclusive holidays in Scotland.[8] In 2017 Strathmore decided to renovate Glamis House, a property on his estate and a childhood home of the Queen Mother, for use as a self-catering holiday home.[9] From 2016 to 2018, he was a director of Ark Hill Wind Farm Ltd.[10] Lord Strathmore is the chieftain of the Strathmore Highland Games,[11] which takes place annually in the grounds of Glamis Castle.[12]

Controversy

Speeding conviction

In 2010, Lord Glamis, as he then was styled, was convicted of speeding by riding his motorbike at 100mph on a public road with a 60mph limit. He was banned from driving for nine months.[6]

COVID-19 violation

In June 2020, Durham Police contacted the Earl for violating the COVID-19-related travel restrictions then in place. A report said Lord Strathmore travelled 200miles to Holwick Lodge, Middleton-in-Teesdale, and that his butler was spotted buying newspapers.[13]

Sexual assault conviction

In 2021, Lord Strathmore was charged with sexual assault after admitting to attacking a 26-year-old woman at his Scottish home, Glamis Castle, in early 2020.[14] On 12 January 2021, Strathmore was granted bail and placed on the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) by Sheriff Alistair Carmichael at Dundee Sheriff Court. His conviction attracted attention in both the British and the international press, due to his connection with the royal family.[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] The Times reported calls for Lord Strathmore to be removed as the Chieftain of the annual Strathmore Highland Games.[11] On 23 February 2021, he was sentenced to ten months' imprisonment and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.[19] He was released after serving fivemonths.[20]

Drunk driving conviction

On 10 November 2023, the Earl was convicted of drink driving at Perth Sheriff Court. The Earl gave a reading of 55mcg per 100ml of breath; the legal limit is 22mcg, therefore, he was 2.5times over the legal limit. As part of a plea deal with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service a charge of driving at 88mph was dropped. He was banned from driving for a period of 16 months and ordered to pay a fine of £1000.[21]

Titles and styles

In addition to the Earldom of Strathmore and Kinghorne, Strathmore holds the following subsidiary titles: 17th Viscount Lyon, 19th Lord Lyon and Glamis, 26th Lord Glamis, 17th Lord Glamis, Tannadyce, Sidlaw and Strathdichtie, and 7th Baron Bowes, of Streatlam Castle.[23]

Notes and References

  1. News: Currie . Gordon . Queen's cousin Simon Bowes-Lyon faces jail after sex attack at Glamis Castle . 13 January 2021 . . 12 January 2021.
  2. News: Currie . Gordon . 12 January 2021 . Royal family member faces prison sentence over violent sex assault in Scottish ancestral home . . 14 January 2021.
  3. News: Obituary: Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and businessman . The Scotsman . 5 March 2016 . 14 January 2021.
  4. Old Boys . School Notes . Summer 2017 . 6 . Sunningdale School.
  5. Web site: The Earl of Strathmore, the Queen's cousin, has passed away. Royal Central . 29 February 2016 . 13 January 2021.
  6. News: Ward . Victoria . Queen's cousin faces jail after admitting sexual assault . 13 January 2021 . . 12 January 2021.
  7. Book: Pickup, Gilly . 7 March 2019 . The 50 Greatest Castles and Palaces of the World . Icon Books . 9781785784583.
  8. News: King . Steven . 9 August 2020 . How to live like laird in your own Scottish castle . dead . The Telegraph . https://web.archive.org/web/20200810044916/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/travel/live-like-laird-scottish-castle/ . 10 August 2020 . 14 January 2021.
  9. Carruth . Karen . 15 January 2018 . Live like a Royal at Glamis House . The Scottish Farmer . Glasgow . Newsquest . 16 January 2021.
  10. Web site: Strathmore And Kinghorne Simon Patrick BOWES LYON . . 15 January 2021.
  11. News: Horne . Marc . 14 January 2021 . Call to strip sex offender Simon Bowes-Lyon of chieftain title . The Times . 16 January 2021.
  12. Web site: Information. Strathmore Highland Games. 23 February 2021.
  13. News: Laird lured to Barnard Castle. Roland. White. The Times. 14 June 2020. 10 September 2020.
  14. News: 12 January 2021. Earl of Strathmore admits sex attack at Glamis Castle home. BBC News. 13 January 2021.
  15. News: Friedmann . Chloé . 13 January 2021 . Simon Bowes-Lyon, un cousin d'Elizabeth II, risque la prison pour agression sexuelle . Simon Bowes-Lyon, a cousin of Elizabeth II, faces prison for sexual assault . fr . . 14 January 2021.
  16. News: 13 January 2021 . Kuzyn królowej Elżbiety II oskarżony o próbę gwałtu. Mężczyzna przyznał się do winy . Queen Elizabeth II's cousin accused of attempted rape. The man pleaded guilty . pl . Dzień Dobry TVN. 14 January 2021.
  17. News: 13 January 2021 . Cousin der Queen droht Haftstrafe wegen sexuellen Übergriffs . Queen's cousin faces prison sentence for sexual assault . https://web.archive.org/web/20210619181324/https://www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/inhalt.skandal-um-simon-bowes-lyon-cousin-der-queen-droht-haftstrafe-wegen-sexuellen-uebergriffs.2e8f085d-a7aa-4467-9fbc-3d19c0ec0430.html . 2021-06-19 . de . . 14 January 2021.
  18. News: Nolasco . Stephanie . 15 January 2021 . Queen Elizabeth's relative, Earl of Strathmore, pleads guilty to sexually assaulting a woman: reports . . 16 January 2021.
  19. News: Relative of Queen jailed for sexually assaulting woman at Scottish castle. The Guardian. 23 February 2021. 23 February 2021.
  20. News: Vanderhoof. Erin. Vanity Fair. The Queen's Cousin Simon Bowes-Lyon Is Released From Prison After Serving Five Months for Sexual Assault. 9 August 2021.
  21. News: Simon Bowes-Lyon: Road ban for earl who admitted drink-driving. . 2023-11-09 . 2023-11-15.
  22. News: The Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne - obituary. The Daily Telegraph. 29 February 2016.
  23. Book: Charles. Mosley. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. 107. Burke's Peerage and Gentry LLC. 2003. 3. 3783–4.