A tycoon is selling her iconic Highland castle for £5m because the countryside is “not ready” for a transgender owner, she claimed last night.
Samantha Kane, who calls herself the lady of the manor, said she sometimes feels like she has “landed on Mars” after being continually made “hurtful” comments about her gender identity.
Ms Kane, who likes to be known as Lady Carbisdale, is believed to be the only person in the UK to have changed gender three times, having been born a boy.
The billionaire lawyer has invested millions of pounds of her fortune into restoring Carbisdale Castle, near Bonar Bridge, Sutherland, to its former glory after fulfilling her dream of becoming a “princess in her own fairytale” by buying the 117-year-old property in 2022.
Samantha Kane sells her Highland castle because the countryside is ‘not ready’ for a transgender owner
But “for the sake of her future,” she decided to sell the imposing 19-room property in the hope that a new custodian can carry on her vision.
The hilltop mansion, which sits on 29 acres of land and has its own lake, is being sold through Strutt and Parker with a guide price of £5 million.
Her decision comes just weeks after she was seeking “leading women and their guests” to sign up to her exclusive Duchess’ Club, offering the first 100 members of the health and beauty club a 50 per cent discount off £5,000.
Ms Kane, 64, told the Mail: “It’s been a lot of loving work, but when people sit in their bedrooms writing on social media, they realise the effect it has on some people. I’ve been really hurt by comments about my gender identity so now I think it just needs someone who is, let’s put it more simply, ‘normal’ to take charge.
“It’s a very special place, but I’ve experienced some prejudice and I think the Highlands are probably not ready for a transgender owner of the castle. They need someone else to protect their future.
Carbisdale Castle, near Bonar Bridge in Sutherland, is on sale for £5m
‘But I came here to a nearly ruined castle and restored it to its former glory, so I did the job I said I was going to do.
“It is really a very important monument and my main concern is to see it preserved and respected.”
He said there were “a lot of great people in the community” and stressed that “the actions of one or two people should not reflect the entire community.”
But he added: “Unfortunately, if you have one or two very active and very vocal people trying to make it all personal… and comments on social media calling me a man and this and that, it really hurts me and I can do without that.”
His decision comes after plans to preserve the castle ended in angry recriminations and a visit from police last November, when he faced the wrath of locals over his proposal to turn the land surrounding the castle into public property for a third time, which was later granted.
Earlier this year, he also planned to file an injunction to stop SSEN from building “monstrous” pylons near the landmark as part of its new multi-million pound overhead power line from Beauly to Spittal.
But a sheriff deemed his appeal “incompetent” and refused to call his case to trial.
The lawyer said she now intends to return to London and “put on my wig and get back to serving my clients.”
But she vowed: ‘I will not leave unless someone who shares my vision ensures that this castle is cherished and preserved.
“It’s a sad situation, but I actually think that what’s important is what helps the castle, not what helps me personally. I think that for the castle’s benefit, it would be best if someone else was in charge.”
