Pressure is intensifying on Prince Andrew to move out of his 30-room Royal Lodge home in Windsor Great Park and he has now been offered the keys to stay in a huge castle in the Highlands
Pressure has intensified on Prince Andrew to give up his 30-room Royal Lodge home in Windsor Great Park(Image: Getty Images)
A Scottish Lady has offered Prince Andrew and his family an unusual lifeline – and photoshopped him into a picture – after claiming he was “being hounded unfairly” over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Barrister and businesswoman Samantha Kane owns Carbisdale Castle, in Sutherland, and she has written to the disgraced Duke to offer him the keys to the 23-room property. Prince Andrew was last week reportedly pushed into voluntarily relinquishing his royal titles amid continuing fallout from accusations that he had sex with Jeffrey Epstein trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was just 17 when she had sex with the royal.
The prince has always vehemently denied the accusations, and reached an out-of-court settlement in 2022 to halt a civil trial with Giuffre taking place in the United States. Ms Kane, the only person in the UK to have changed sex three times, reached out to King Charles’ brother because she feels “he is being hounded unfairly”.
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Carbisdale Castle, in Sutherland, has been offered to Prince Andrew and his family(Image: Anthony Round/WikiCommons)
She wrote on social media: “I am writing to the prince to offer my castle for his exclusive use – and that of his family, including his former wife, Sarah Ferguson. I feel strongly that he is being hounded unfairly. He remains innocent of these allegations. I am also prepared to offer to represent him against these allegations and over moves to oust him from his current property. I really think he has been treated badly.”
In a post on Facebook, Ms Kane shared an image of Carbisdale Castle with Prince Andrew dressed in a black suit, white shirt and tie photoshopped in front of it. Other pictures shared show off the castle’s beauty amidst 2000 acres of Carbisdale Forest.
She added: “In response to the King sending Prince Andrew into exile in the Highlands, I am happy to make Carbisdale Castle available to Prince Andrew, as it is more fit to receive a Prince than, with the greatest of respect, the Castle of Mey. I believe the Prince, like anyone else, must not be judged by public opinion without a proper hearing which he was not given.
Prince Andrew photoshopped in front of Carbisdale Castle(Image: Samantha Kane/Facebook)
“The castle has been home to a king, a prince and a duchess so it has established Royal links, with rooms like the Prince Olav Dining Room, highlighting those connections. I will also be largely based in London for a while to concentrate on a number of important cases. I hope he takes up my offer.”
The barrister and property tycoon, born Sam Hashimi, transitioned from male to female in 1997 for the first time, but changed back to being a male in 2004 for the sake of her family. However, after spending 14-years living as a man again, Ms Kane knew her life didn’t feel right, and in 2018, she went through her final gender change to a woman.
Carbisdale Castle was recently up for sale for £5million, although the asking price was dropped to £3.5million before it was eventually taken off the market. Calling herself Lady Carbisdale after buying the Sutherland property, the castle was given a modern freshen up during renovation works and now boasts a spa and swimming pool, therapy-treatment rooms and an exclusive members’ club.
Samantha Kane owns Carbisdale Castle and has offered the home to Prince Andrew(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Prince Andrew has always vehemently denied the allegations that he had sex with Epstein trafficking victim Giuffre. He reached an out-of-court settlement in 2022 to halt a civil trial with Giuffre taking place in the United States. But he has been exiled from royal duties, stripped of his military title and dumped from his charity patronages in recent years.
Pressure has intensified on Prince Andrew to give up his 30-room Royal Lodge home in Windsor Great Park after it emerged he paid a “peppercorn rent” for more than 20 years. Senior Tory Robert Jenrick said it was “about time Prince Andrew took himself off to live in private” as “the public are sick of him”.
Shadow justice secretary Mr Jenrick added: “He has disgraced himself, he has embarrassed the royal family time and again. I don’t see why the taxpayer, frankly, should continue to foot the bill at all. The public are sick of him. ”
Asked if Andrew should leave his Windsor residence, Mr Jenrick told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “I don’t think the taxpayer in any way should be footing the bill for him to live in luxury homes ever again.”
