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

Simon Patrick Bowes-Lyon, 19th and 6th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (born 18 June 1986) is a British peer and registered sex offender. Styled as Lord Glamis between 1986 and 2016, he is the eldest son of Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and his first wife, Isobel Weatherall. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman at his ancestral home, Glamis Castle.[1]

The Right Honourable The Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Born	Simon Patrick Bowes-Lyon 18 June 1986 London, England
Other names	Sam Bowes-Lyon Lord Strathmore Lord Glamis
Title	Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Term	27 February 2016 – present
Criminal charge(s)	Sexual assault
Criminal penalty	Pending
Criminal status	Sentencing deferred
Parent(s)	Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Isobel Weatherall

Biography

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

From birth until 2016, as the eldest son of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, Bowes-Lyon used the courtesy title Lord Glamis. He is also known informally as "Sam."[5] Lord Strathmore is a great-great-nephew of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and thus a first cousin, twice-removed of Queen Elizabeth II. In 2002, he walked alongside his father and members of the royal family behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother during her funeral.[6]

Upon the death of his father, Bowes-Lyon succeeded his father as 19th Earl on 27 February 2016.[3] As of 2019, he lives at Glamis Castle.[7] Part of his work to run the Glamis estate includes working with Reiver Travel which arranges luxury holidays in Scotland[8] and in 2017 he decided to renovate Glamis House and open it up as a self-catering property for rent.[9] From 2016 to 2018, he was a director of Ark Hill Wind Farm Ltd.[10] He is the chieftain of the Strathmore Highland Games[11] which meet annually in the grounds of Glamis Castle.[12]

Speeding conviction

In 2010, Bowes-Lyon was convicted of speeding by riding his motorbike at 100 mph on a public road with a 60 mph 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 he travelled 200 miles to Holwick Lodge, Middleton-in-Teesdale, and that his butler was spotted buying newspapers.[13]

Sexual assault case

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, he was granted bail and placed on the Violent and Sex Offender Register by Sheriff Alistair Carmichael at Dundee Sheriff Court. Sentencing was deferred for reports.[5] His conviction attracted attention in both the British and the international press.[14][15] In particular, The Times newspaper reported that there were calls for Bowes-Lyon to be removed from his role as the Chieftain of the annual Strathmore Highland Games.[11]

Titles and styles

• 18 June 1986 − 27 February 2016: Lord Glamis[16]
• 27 February 2016 – present: The Right Honourable The Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne

In addition to the Earldom of Strathmore and Kinghorne, Strathmore holds the 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.[17]

References

1. Currie, Gordon (12 January 2021). "Queen's cousin Simon Bowes-Lyon faces jail after sex attack at Glamis Castle". The Times. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
2. Currie, Gordon (12 January 2021). "Royal family member faces prison sentence over violent sex assault in Scottish ancestral home". The Scotsman. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
3. "Obituary: Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and businessman". The Scotsman. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
4. "The Earl of Strathmore, the Queen's cousin, has passed away". Royal Central. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
5. "Queen's cousin Simon 'Sam' Bowes-Lyon faces jail for sexual assault at Glamis Castle". The Courier. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
6. Ward, Victoria (12 January 2021). "Queen's cousin faces jail after admitting sexual assault". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
7. Pickup, Gilly (7 March 2019). The 50 Greatest Castles and Palaces of the World. Icon Books. ISBN 9781785784583.
8. King, Steven (9 August 2020). "How to live like laird in your own Scottish castle". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
9. Carruth, Karen (15 January 2018). "Live like a Royal at Glamis House". The Scottish Farmer. Glasgow: Newsquest. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
10. "Strathmore And Kinghorne Simon Patrick BOWES LYON". Companies House. UK government. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
11. Horne, Marc (14 January 2021). "Call to strip sex offender Simon Bowes-Lyon of chieftain title". The Times. London. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
12. https://www.strathmorehighlandgames.co.uk/
13. White, Roland (14 June 2020). "Laird lured to Barnard Castle". The Times. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
14. "Earl of Strathmore admits sex attack at Glamis Castle home". BBC News. 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
15. 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]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 14 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]. Dzień Dobry TVN (in Polish). 13 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021. "Cousin der Queen droht Haftstrafe wegen sexuellen Übergriffs" [Queen's cousin faces prison sentence for sexual assault]. Stuttgarter Nachrichten (in German). 13 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021. Nolasco, Stephanie (15 January 2021). "Queen Elizabeth's relative, Earl of Strathmore, pleads guilty to sexually assaulting a woman: reports". Fox News. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
16. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/03/18/the-earl-of-strathmore-and-kinghorne---obituary/
17. Mosley, Charles, (ed.) Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, Burke's Peerage and Gentry LLC, 2003; vol. III, pp. 3783–4.