Confessions of a Castleholic

A guest post by Saad. All photos: Wikimedia Commons North America is not famous for its castles, and castles with links to Royalty are almost unheard of. However, Hatley Castle is just that, with links to multiple generations of the British Royal Family, the castle and its grounds have played a significant role in politics of the Canadian Province of British Columbia, and has been featured in many famous movies. Built in 1908 for British Columbia’s Lieutenant Governor James Dunsmuir by renowned Canadian architect Samuel Maclure just outside of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, Hatley Castle is a 40-room mansion built in the Scottish Baronial style, situated on a 229 hectare estate on the edge of Esquimalt Lagoon. The stunning park was designed by American designers and features Japanese, Rose and Italian gardens. After being bought to the Canadian Government, some of the land was sold, and in June 1939, 927 lots of the Castle’s contents were sold at public auction....