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Millionaire who changed gender three times is selling Scotland's last castle. Kings hid there from the Nazis and students slept there
The last castle built in Scotland has had a difficult fate. During its 117 years of existence, Carbisdale was the "Castle of Contempt", a refuge for the kings of Norway and a youth hostel. Since 2014, Carbisdale has been empty and, due to a lack of funds for reconstruction, has gradually fallen into disrepair. Salvation will not come until 2022. The surname was taken by the eccentric billionaire Samantha Kane, who reportedly changed her gender three times in her life. She spent millions of pounds on renovations and even planned to build a building similar to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in the surrounding area. However, the Highlanders who lived in the surrounding castles were not enthusiastic about their new neighbors. Unable to withstand the tense atmosphere, unpleasant rumors and insults, Kane gave in. Recently, it was reported that she is looking for a new owner for Carbisdale. The castle is on the market for 5 million pounds. Lenta.ru learned all about the difficult fate of the last Scottish castle.
How Lady Samantha Kane Got Her Last Name and How She Changed It
Lady Samantha Kane was born in Iraq in 1960. At the time, her name was Sam Hashimi, and she was the eldest child in a wealthy family. The boy was strange from childhood, and his parents sent him from Iraq to England. From there, Hashimi graduated from the prestigious Northumbria University and quickly made a successful career in the 1980s. Hashmi took advantage of the height of the oil boom in the UK to set up his own company to negotiate deals between the UK and Saudi Arabia.
His education in England and his excellent command of Arabic made him a millionaire. He oversaw large hotel construction contracts, participated in investments and almost became the head of a football club. Hashmi personally knew many of the upper class of the time, including, for example, Princess Diana. They married in 1984 and have two sons. He also completed a second education and became a qualified lawyer.
In 1997, Hashmi first became Samantha. After that, his wife severed all ties with him and forbade him from seeing his son. He also had problems with his job and clients, and many people turned their backs on him.
Hashmi, unsure of her decision, remained a woman for seven years before becoming a man again. He took the new name Charles. But this phase did not last long. In 2017, the surnames Sam, Charles and Hashimi disappeared. In his place, we have Samantha Kane, an eccentric who loves tweed suits and elaborate hats.
In 2022, she traveled to northwest Scotland. There, on a mountain, she saw Carbisdale Castle. By then, it had fallen into serious disrepair and had been empty for 11 years. It was put up for sale, but no one wanted to buy the former hostel. It was clear that such a property would require a significant investment from the new owner. But when Kane heard the story of the castle's original owner, he was fascinated.
What does Carbisdale Castle look like and who was it built for?
Carbisdale is located on a hill in the central Scottish Highlands, next to a small lake. Behind huge stone gates stands a clock tower. The castle has 40 rooms, 365 windows, 17 fireplaces, 22 carved wooden fruit bowls and four triple-height images of dukes in the central stained glass window.
Construction of the castle began in 1905, and by the standards of the time, the foundations of its exterior were scandalous. Carbisdale was built for George Grenville's second wife, Mary Caroline Blair, Duchess of Sutherland, and William Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland. Their relationship was something of a love affair.
Mary Caroline Mitchell, 24, daughter of the headmaster of Oxford University, married a former soldier. At the time, he was already working as a manager for the Duke of Sutherland, one of the richest men in England. The Duke was married and a respected member of high society. Queen Victoria visited him in person.
At some point, Sutherland and Mary Caroline had an affair. It is believed that she became his mistress when she was widowed. However, there is some disagreement on this point.
The official cause of her husband's death was a hunting accident. However, there were rumors that he was murdered or that he committed suicide out of despair after learning of his wife's affair. But soon after his death, the Duke of Sutherland began to appear everywhere with Mary Caroline. At this time, the Duke was still married to the mother of his five children, but he was soon widowed.
He immediately started talking about marriage, but he believed that according to the rules, a widower should spend at least a year in mourning. Queen Victoria herself advised him to wait. But the Duke showed his will. Four months after the funeral, the couple had a quiet wedding in Dunedin Village, Florida, USA. This act was a shock to Sutherland's family and his entourage.
Because of her rule-breaking, Mary Caroline was not fully accepted by high society. And the Duke's children and relatives openly hated her. Sutherland learned of this and changed his will in advance, leaving most of his property and assets to his second wife.
Widowed for the second time in 1892, the Duchess of Sutherland was left alone with her late husband's children. They, of course, did not recognize the will and began to challenge it in court. They did not want to leave Mary Caroline a penny. The trial was not easy. At some point, the Duchess burned several letters from her husband to protect herself from attacks and preserve at least part of her wealth.
Mary Caroline agreed. In 1905, she began construction of Carbisdale Castle, the "Castle of Contempt," which would be the last castle built in Scotland.
To his stepson's chagrin, he grew up right across from his own estate, so on his way south, the fourth Duke of Sutherland inevitably came across the Carbisdale Clock Tower, the home of his unloved stepmother. However, the widow, out of revenge, did not install a clock in the tower. She did not want to give her time to people who wanted to take everything from her.
She was lucky in her third marriage, but it did not last long. Marie Caroline died in 1912, five years before the castle was completed.
According to Kane Castle's new owner, she sometimes feels the presence of her first owner. She sees herself in the painting "Woman in White" hanging in the billiard room, and even hears her own footsteps at night.
Colonel Theodor Salvesen, a wealthy Scottish businessman of Norwegian descent, purchased the castle in 1933. During World War II, he provided the castle as a refuge for King Haakon VII and Crown Prince Olav of Norway. The Nazi occupation of Norway forced the royal family into exile.
In a sense, the move to Carbisdale has brought about a new ghost, which, according to Princess Martha Louise, still haunts the Norwegian monarch's family residence of Skaugum.
While the royal family was hiding in Scotland, their residence was seized by Nazi General Wilhelm Redisch. He was considered one of Hitler's closest officers and was directly responsible for the mass deportation of Norwegian Jews to death camps.
During his service in Norway, he rose from SS-Obergruppenführer and police chief to SS general. On May 8, 1945, he committed suicide to avoid trial after Germany's surrender to the Allies.
Reddish was found shot in the head on a sofa in what would later become Martha Louise's nursery. The princess, now a teenager, had complained more than once that she saw a man's silhouette staring at her in the dark at night. Just a few years later, her father told her that Reddish had lived and died in that room.
Carbisdale has been a hostel for many years.
After the Norwegian monarch returned to his homeland in 1945, the owners of Carbisdale donated the castle to the Scottish Youth Hostel Association. The hostel received not only the building, but also all the furniture and paintings that remained inside. It opened its doors to guests on June 2, 1945. The hostel was very popular with visitors and operated for almost 60 years.
During this time, the castle became overgrown with stories and ghosts. Thus, room 218 became famous for its strange occurrences. Tourists heard children's voices, bagpipes, and sometimes sudden raindrops at night.
In addition, gardeners and visitors have repeatedly noticed a woman dressed in white in the castle and its surroundings, namely Blair.
Unfortunately, over time the building began to require more and more attention. It was constantly in need of expensive repairs, and the bills became unbearable. Unable to pay its dues, the hostel ceased to exist in 2011.
Samantha Kane literally saved the castle. She got it for next to nothing, but it was clear that the renovation would cost a fortune. A painting of the castle was headed to Sotheby's when Kane stepped in. She saved about 13 boxes of paintings to decorate the restored building. Kane planned to buy antique furniture to decorate the entire castle.
The first phase of the renovation and restoration has now been completed. Plans include a three-storey spa, gym and infinity pool stretching to the River Kyle in Sutherland.
The castle would also have a cinema and, of course, the hanging gardens that Kane had dreamed of since buying them. “The steps leading down the hill and the water running underneath would allow it to blend in well with the native flora of Scotland,” she said. A further 13 en-suite rooms are being renovated.
Kane’s ambition was to make Carbisdale great again and turn it into the most attractive private club, preserving “Scotland’s last castle” for future generations. Lady Carbisdale’s ambitions were boundless. She wanted to bring together the worlds of business, politics and fashion and create a kind of Davos in the castle. After all, “the ski resorts are very close.” An ecotourism village is planned for Carbisdale Loch.
Lady Carbisdale wanted to spend £10 million to build her dream castle, but the actual cost was closer to £18 million. And now it looks like she'll have to abandon her idea halfway through to achieve that elusive victory.
A week after announcing the opening of a women's "Dutch Club" and a discount for the first 100 members, Kane announced his plan to drop the name. It has now been sold for £5 million (632.2 million rubles).
But she vowed, “I will not leave until people who share my vision love and appreciate this castle.” Perhaps there is hope for the castle and its many ghostly inhabitants yet.