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Queen’s cousin first royal to come out as openly gay

In an interview this weekend, Lord Ivar says he has finally come to terms with who he is.
Lord Ivar Mountbatten

Lord Ivar Mountbatten

The queen’s cousin Lord Ivar Mountbatten has spoken out for the first time on his sexuality and new partner, James Coyle.

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As the first royal to come out as openly gay, Lord Ivar told the Mail on Sunday that he was “driven into the closet by not wanting to come to terms with who I was.”

He added that he had buried his sexuality for years to avoid having to tell friends and family, but is “so pleased” to have found someone he can now call his partner.

53-year-old Ivar, who is the great-nephew of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, has now told his friends and family of his sexuality and introduced them to his partner – who he me while skiing in Switzerland.

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And the royal insists it wasn’t his family that stifled his ability to come out, it was just the era he was born.

“What’s amazing now is how far we have all come in terms of acceptance,” he told the Mail.

Lord Ivar was married to Penelope Thompson for 17 years until 2011, when they divorced. And while he admits his three daughters would love their parents to still be together, his ex wife and children are all supportive of his new life.

“In an ideal world, I know the girls would like their mother and father still to be together, but they love their 21st-century family that we have built, too. Their father has a boyfriend. It’s that complicated and that simple, but finding James means I will not have to lie to anyone or grow old on my own.”

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