Trans owner puts £5m Scottish castle up for sale because of abuse

Samantha Kane, who calls herself Lady Carbisdale, says its time for someone ‘normal’ to take over historic pile

The transgender owner of a £5 million Scottish castle is selling up, claiming the rural community is “not ready” to accept someone who has changed their gender.
Samantha Kane said it sometimes felt like she had “landed on Mars” when “hurtful” gender identity comments were shared on social media.
Ms Kane, who was born male and now styles herself as Lady Carbisdale, is thought to be the only person in the UK to have changed gender three times.
The barrister has spent millions of pounds restoring Carbisdale Castle, near Ardgay in Sutherland, after buying the 117-year-old property in 2022.
But Ms Kane has now decided to sell the 19-bedroom, 29-acre castle, complete with its own loch. It has been listed with a guide price of £5 million.
Ms Kane, 64, told the Daily Mail: “It has been a labour of love mostly. But when people sit in their bedrooms writing on social media they have to realise the effect that has on some people.
“I really have been quite hurt by comments on my gender identity, so now I think it just needs someone, for a better word, ‘normal’ to take over.”
Ms Kane added: “It is such a special place but I did suffer some prejudice and I think probably the Highlands is not ready for a transgender owner of the castle. It needs someone else to protect its future.
“But I came here to a near-ruined castle and have restored it to its former glory, so I’ve done the job I said I was going to do.
“It’s really such an important landmark and my main concern is to see it preserved and to see it respected.”
After Ms Kane bought Carbisdale Castle for more than £1 million, police were called over a community council meeting at which homophobic remarks were allegedly made about her.
Ms Kane had attended the meeting to state her intention to restore the manor but had to leave while a vote took place.
One resident, who did not want to be named, claimed he heard a woman had been “abusive” towards a committee member understood to have been Ms Kane.
He claimed: “The language she used was exceptionally strong which even a sailor would have been proud of. I wouldn’t use it as a man, never mind it coming from a woman.”
Police Scotland said it received a report of a disturbance in Carron Place, Ardgay, on Nov 23.
Officers issued advice and a woman received a recorded warning in relation to an earlier disturbance on Nov 21.
At the time, Ms Kane described the police involvement as an “overreaction” despite claiming that some of what was said was “homophobic and racist”.
She said of the alleged abuse: “In my view it wasn’t a disturbance other than a handful of people wanting to see what I’m doing derailed. I’ve got a half a dozen people trying to smear my name and the castle’s name. They’d rather see a ruined castle than a preserved castle.”
Ms Kane said there were “a lot of great people in the community” and stressed the “actions of one or two people should not reflect the whole community”.
“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 hurt me and I can do without that,” Ms Kane said.
“It is a sad situation. But really for me I think it should be about whatever helps the castle, it shouldn’t be what helps me personally. In the interests of the castle I think it will be best served with someone else at the helm.”
Ms Kane was born in Iraq and moved to the UK, later making a fortune as the head of investment at a Saudi-owned company. She transitioned to become Samantha in 1997 and in 2004 transitioned back to a man.
In 2018, she underwent further surgery and hormone replacement therapy to revive her transition into femininity.