#earl bathurst

5051 Drysllwyn Castle is an example of the GWR 4-6-0 Castle class, which was an updated version of their earlier star class and was designed by Collett from 1923. In all, 171 Castle class locomotives were built for the Great Western.

5051 left Swindon Works in 1936, with its current name, but the following year it was renamed Earl Bathurst. it retained this name for the remainder of its active…

by MATTHEW BAYLEY, Daily Mail

16/06/2003 16:31:05

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In trouble: Prince William

The Prince of Wales was forced to apologize to an aristocratic family yesterday after a road-rage incident in which his son William was accused of behaving like "a young yob".

Earl Bathurst, a friend of Charles, was driving on his own Cirencester Park Estate when he was overtaken by 20-year-old William.

A high-speed chase ended with a furious stand-off between the 76-year-old landowner and a royal protection officer while the prince roared off alone in his grey VW Golf.

The earl, a former lord-in-waiting to the Queen, said yesterday that Prince Charles had already telephoned to say sorry about Saturday evening's incident.

"I hope he will tell his son to abide by the rules in future," he said. "He whizzed past. He really shouldn't have been driving at that speed. I thought he was a young yob and I was very annoyed."

The episode, a week before William's 21st birthday, happened after William had been playing polo with his father at the Cirencester Polo Club - on the earl's estate - where their Highgrove team lost 4-3 to their opponents Lovelocks.

The young prince is understood to have been trying to make an early getaway back to his father's nearby Highgrove estate along the gravel road that leads to the A419.

There was speculation yesterday that he was keen to meet his friend Jessica Craig, the daughter of a Kenyan conservationist, who is invited to his birthday party on Saturday and, according to some reports, is staying at Highgrove.

At around 5.30pm, said Earl Bathurst, he was heading for home in his white H-registered Land Rover Discovery when he was overtaken on the left by the prince driving at up to 50mph - more than double the estate's 20mph limit.

Anger: Earl Bathurst

"He went on the grass to overtake me," he said. "I didn't know who the hell it was. I thought he was just a yob driving a rather crummy VW Golf which anybody might have.

"I flashed my lights and sounded my horn. I expected him to slow down but he went faster still."

The earl said he used a short cut to head William off but as he prepared to give the young driver "a piece of my mind" another car arrived - a Vauxhall Omega.

"A man got out and started asking me what I was doing. He said he was a policeman.

"I said, 'Officer, do you know who I am?' Then he told me he was a royal protection officer. They thought I was trying to take him out. I could have been shot.

"I told him that Prince William must obey the rules of the club like everyone else. He tried to tell me off but actually I was doing the telling off."

During this conversation William made his departure, said the earl. "He just drove on round us. It wasn't very civil, to be honest."

Earl Bathurst said he had become enraged by the prince's driving because speeding was a persistent problem on his 15,000-acre estate.

"We have a lot of trouble with members from the polo club and also the public with driving far too fast on the park roads," he said.

"We have animals, children, tractors and trailers. The roads are also quite narrow which means you can't pass on them."

The earl said his son Lord Apsley, who runs the estate, took Charles's apologetic phone call yesterday morning. "Young will be young but I'm afraid they've got to learn. I hope he will tell his son to abide by the rules in future.

"What would have happened if I had driven like that on Windsor Park? I would have ended up in the Tower."

St James's Palace tried to dismiss the incident as "very minor". "No one was injured and it was all over in a flash," said a spokesman. The palace also denied any romance between the prince and 21-year-old Jessica.

But the timing of the "road-rage" incident is unfortunate to say the least.

On Thursday William will take up his first royal duties since leaving school three years ago when he carries out several public engagements in Wales - including visiting a charity project for the homeless - accompanied by his father.

Then on Saturday he will celebrate his birthday with the party at Windsor Castle, which will be attended by virtually every senior member of the Royal Family.