Who is Lord Ivar Mountbatten, the Queen’s cousin and first member of the Royal Family to come out as gay and is set to marry?
Lord Ivar Mountbatten (top left)
The Royal Family will celebrate their first gay wedding later this summer when Lord Ivar Mountbatten marries his partner James Coyle.
But who is the man with the incredibly posh name and fancy title?
Trooping the Colour (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Lord Mountbatten is a 55-year-old farmer and geologist, who is the Queen’s cousin, the great great great grandson of Queen Victoria, the great-nephew of Earl Mountbatten of Burma and the son of the 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven.
He married Penelope Thompson in 1994, in Clare, Surrey, and the pair share three daughters, Ella, 22, Alix, 20, and 15-year-old Luli.
Despite divorcing eight years ago the exes have a brilliant relationship and Thompson will be walking Mountbatten down the aisle on his big day.
He came out in an interview with Coyle two years ago. The couple met on a skiing holiday in March, and the relationship has been a key landmark for them both.
He is the first member of the extended royal family to come out as gay, and while he is happier, admitted at the time that he’s still finding his feet in his new relationship.
“I am a lot happier now, though I am still not 100% comfortable with being gay,” he told The Mail on Sunday.
The queen supports LGBT equality (Photo by Chris Jackson – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
“Being a Mountbatten was never the problem, it was the generation into which I was born. When I was growing up, it was known as ‘the love that dare not speak its name’, but what’s amazing now is how far we have all come in terms of acceptance.”
“Coming out is such a funny phrase but it’s what I suppose I did in a rather roundabout way, emerging to a place I’m happy to be. I have struggled with my sexuality and in some ways I still do; it has been a real journey to reach this point.”
“Simply talking about it in public is a huge step for me. Up to this point, I have had a heterosexual lifestyle, so living with a man is really new. One step at a time.”
Whilst having a boyfriend has provided the Lord with some learning curves, it’s also been a blessing in disguise. His daughters like having another man in the house, rather than a step-mother. And his ex, Thompson, goes to yoga with his new boyfriend.
