A German court fined Princess Caroline of Monaco's husband, Prince Ernst August of Hanover, 200,000 euros on Tuesday for assaulting a hotel manager on a luxury African island.
At an earlier trial in 2004, the prince, 56, a distant relation of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, was found guilty of grievous bodily harm and fined 445,000 euros.
But a new trial was granted after Caroline corroborated his account of the 2000 incident on the Kenyan island resort of Lamu, with the aristocrat seeking a complete acquittal.
The prince had told the new trial in the western city of Hildesheim through his lawyer that he had given Josef Brunlehner "two symbolic slaps" because of the noise and the laser show at his hotel disco, next to where they were having dinner.
"One for the music and one for the lights," he had said.
But he said that accusations that he then beat up Brunlehner, a German national, under the influence of alcohol were "grotesque inventions and lies". The defence said Brunlehner massively exaggerated his injuries.
Presiding judge Andreas Schlueter found the prince guilty of the lesser of of actual bodily harm and handed down the fine of 200,000 (272,000 dollars).
"The court was not in a position to be able to decide between the two versions," Schlueter said on Tuesday.
"He dealt Brunlehner two powerful clips round the ear in quick succession. Not the done thing, but not unrestrainedly violent either."
He added: "There is no victor here. All those involved are on the losing side."
The prince's lawyer said he intended to appeal.
The prince married Caroline, the daughter of actress Grace Kelly and Rainier III of Monaco, in 1999, his second wife. He was not present in the courtroom when the verdict was delivered.
Caroline, 53, took to the stand in mid-January, testifying for over two hours and confirmed to the judge, who addressed her as "madame", her third husband's account.
Wearing tortoiseshell glasses, a light-brown camel hair coat with black trousers and a black jumper, she said she did not want to "justify" what happened, but that the blows in question were not hard.
Entering the courtroom via a side entrance with bodyguards, she also denied that the prince was drunk, and said that he had not been wearing a ring, which Brunlehner said had caused him serious injury.
Kenyan authorities carried out preliminary investigations but the trial was held in Germany.
The prince, head of the House of Hanover, is no stranger to controversy.
The German mass-circulation daily Bild published photos of a man they said was the prince urinating against the Turkish pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hanover. He denied it was him.
Two-and-a-half years earlier, he struck a cameraman with an umbrella, for which he had to pay a hefty fine.
Monaco's royal palace denied in September reports in celebrity magazines and on websites that their 10-year-old marriage was on the rocks.
"This information is absolutely false and baseless," said the palace's press service.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
