Prince Ernst August of Hanover, husband of Caroline of Monaco, acknowledged in a German court Monday that he hit a hotel owner in Kenya but denied using anything but his hands.

The 55-year-old — a distant relative of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and great-grandson of the last German emperor, Wilhelm II — was being retried after being convicted in 2004 of causing serious bodily harm and fined $633,560.

Although he does not deny the assault, in the retrial Ernst August is seeking to have the charge and sentence reduced.

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