Lady Colin Campbell talks to ME & MY MONEY

Writer Lady Colin Campbell treats herself to caviar whenever she feels like it. Despite her love of the delicacy and life in a castle, 73-year-old Donna Ferguson says she’s not rich.

On May 6, she will hold a coronation ball at her home, Castle Goring in West Sussex, in support of the charity Care for Veterans. Tickets are available at castlegoring.com/upcoming-events.

What did your parents teach you about money?

That it doesn’t grow on trees and that you should spend it wisely. I grew up in Jamaica. My father and his family owned department stores, factories, and racehorses. His family was one of the wealthiest on the island.

My mother was a lady and ladies didn’t work in those days. She never had a job and did nothing but socialize.

Our house was flanked by ambassadors’ residences, half the size of ours. It was an extremely sought-after address with a famous orchid garden that would attract people from all over the world.

We had two gardeners and four servants, a butler and a driver, until Mama got into a fight with him.

Did your parents explain how privileged you were?

No. My parents weren’t that vulgar, but I realized I was luckier than most islanders. My family was treated like demigods. At the same time, we were raised to ensure that we treated everyone decently and correctly – we were not full of ourselves.

How did your father teach you that money doesn’t grow on trees?

He made sure that all his children worked in the family department stores during our school holidays.

I hated it, but me and my siblings all agree – in hindsight – that it was the right thing to do. We weren’t raised as spoiled brats.

Have you ever had trouble making ends meet?

After I divorced my husband Colin Campbell, there was a time when I was short on money.

I would marry the right way, but I married inappropriately. I got the chance to marry businessman David Koch [part-owner of US chemicals giant Koch industries] when I was 24, but declined – and chose Colin instead.

So instead of marrying one of the richest men on the planet—even when I was dating him—I chose to marry a “destitute bum,” as my father described him. In 1974 I wanted love. Our marriage lasted 14 months. After I left Colin, I had to be careful with money. From the age of 25 I was almost on my own financially.

I lived a first class life. I dressed well – in couture clothes – owned jewelery and lived in London’s Belgravia. But I didn’t have much savings.

How did you tie the ends together?

Until I wrote my book – Diana In Private: The Princess Nobody Knows – when I was 41, it was hand-to-mouth. I got a job as a cosmetics saleswoman at Harrods in London. Then I got a job as a secretary to the Libyan ambassador and eventually went to work for my brother’s law firm. I’m not saying I was financially disadvantaged. What I had was enough to afford a modest upper-class existence. People think I’m rich, but I’m definitely not.

Have you ever been paid stupid money?

I suppose some people would consider the amount I paid in 2015 to do I’m a celebrity… Get me out of here! as a desirable sum.

It certainly wasn’t as much as I would have liked. I spent 17 days in the jungle and hated it. I didn’t mind the physical hardship, but really didn’t like being stuck there with a mean pack of human rats.

What was the best year of your life financially?

It was 1993, the year after my Diana book came out. It became a worldwide bestseller and sold out quickly. My agent made deals with magazines and newspapers – and the money poured in.

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought for fun?

It was Rembrandt’s studio painting a scene from the Old Testament, with some work by the master himself. I bought it because I like art. I couldn’t afford it, but I couldn’t afford not to have it either. It was a one-time purchase.

What’s your biggest money mistake?

Sale of a home in London’s Pimlico in the late 1990s and on the advice of a trusted friend who invests the proceeds in the stock market. It was a mistake, because today that house could be worth £5 million.

The best money decision you’ve made?

Buying a four-bedroom house in Belgravia for a mid-six-figure sum – and selling it five years later for a handsome seven-figure sum.

Are you saving for a pension or investing in the stock market?

No. I don’t believe in pensions. I prefer assets that I can manage and have control over – real estate and assets such as paintings. As for the stock market, I think we’re in for some rocky times. I’ve been through enough recessions to know that it’s better to get out of the market when you see problems than to wait for the ship to hit the rocks.

Do you own real estate?

Yes, I own Castle Goring in West Sussex. It is a Grade II listed building, built in the 1790s by Sir Bysshe Shelley, grandfather of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

I bought it in 2014 when it was on the ‘at risk’ register with English Heritage, close to collapse. I installed a new roof, plastered walls and installed new electricity. It cost a seven-figure sum to restore, but it has turned out to be a good financial decision.

On May 6, I am hosting a coronation ball at Goring Castle that is open to the public. It is to celebrate the coronation of the King and Queen – and to raise money for Care for Veterans.

What’s the one luxury you treat yourself to?

I suppose it would be caviar. I buy it when I feel like it. The price is not important.

If I get a good deal on it, which I do from time to time, I buy quite a lot and treat myself to caviar sandwiches for lunch.

I only make the effort when I feel like it again, maybe six months or a year later.

If you were Chancellor, what would you do first?

I would renew the National Health Service. It is a money guzzler, not fit for purpose. It has developed the status of a sacred cow which is unjustified. It’s a total disaster unless you are seriously ill. Whenever I was sick, I had to go private. Doctors and nurses must be paid properly. It’s a shame that drivers are paid ten times more than medical staff.

I would also ensure that those who pollute emergency rooms with drink and drugs are transferred to halfway houses between police cells and medical facilities.

The next day, when they are sober, they would be obliged to dispose of their own sick. Finally, I would ensure that people who are in hospital, but are no longer allowed to be there, are released. We need to end blocking beds.

None of this is hard to achieve, but it would be unpopular and create a chilling tone.

Do you donate money to charity?

Yes. I am a patron of a great charity, SOS Silence on Suicide, which aims to prevent young people from committing suicide.

What is your first financial priority?

Survival. I think it’s important to have good values ​​and be the best person you can be. That doesn’t always mean you’re happy.

Life isn’t about fun, it’s about goodness.