Member of the Royal Family Comes Out
The Queen’s cousin has become the first member of the royal family to come out as gay. Lord Ivar Mountbatten has revealed that he is now dating a man after a life long struggle with his sexuality.
Mountbatten is the Queen’s cousin, the great, great, great, grandson of Queen Victoria and the great-nephew of Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
The 53 year old came out in an interview with his boyfriend James Coyle, 54. 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 whilst he is happier now, 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.
“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.”
The father of three divorced from his wife Penelope Thompson after 17 years of marriage in 2011.
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 stepmother. And his ex, Penelope Thomson, goes to yoga with his new boyfriend.
Coyle said: “I went to a village yoga class with Penny and people thought I was her new boyfriend. She had to tell them: no, he’s Ivar’s, not mine.”
Whilst the couple has a strict no public affection rule, they are now out to all of their friends and family.
“In different ways, we both struggled. Now everyone in our family knows and could not be more supportive,” said Mountbatten. “Neither of us wanted to have relationships which were transitory; the stereotypical view of gay relationships is that they are too fleeting, too frequent.
“Finding James means I will not have to lie to anyone or grow old on my own.”
About author
You might also like
You could be at greater risk of STIs if you shave off your pubic hair
Some people like to have pubic hair removed and completely smooth, but doctors are warning if you do that, you could be at greater risk of STIs. Small tears in
Frank Ocean Shares Moving Essay About Homophobia and the Orlando Tragedy
Four years after shocking the R&B world by revealing his first love was a man and subsequently releasing the stunning Channel Orange, Frank Ocean has shared some moving words about
“If you are homosexually inclined, Nigeria is not a place for you.” Police PRO, Dolapo Badmus warns
The Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmus, who goes by the social media handle @opetodolapo, clearly felt it was her civic duty to remind the Nigerian LGBT community of
21 Comments
MagDiva
September 19, 07:00Maybe prince Edward will use this as a stepping stone to his own coming out
Pink Panther
September 19, 07:13Lol. Why do people say he’s gay?
Mandy
September 19, 07:33??? Come on, really?
Mandy
September 19, 07:31I hear Prince Harry said he might try dating guys if his next straight relationship doesn’t work out. lol. Look at the royal family being all progressive and shit. 😀
ambivalentone
September 19, 07:48Meanwhile, in the backwaters of Nigeria, some idiot family called a press conference to disown their daughter claiming epitome of African-ness. I wonder why we never had written history records and only just senile vocal hand-me-downs
Masked Man
September 19, 08:13I just want to imagine the Ooni of Ife saying that he’s gay.
The dead oonis will rise from their grave .
Arabian Princess
September 19, 21:34I read somewhere that one of the past Alaafin was a flamboyant Queen.. his name was Jayin
Delle
September 19, 09:19“I am a lot happier now, though I am still not 100%
comfortable with being gay,”
I don’t know if I should congratulate him or just jump over. A lot of confusion going on but I wish them luck.
When you ex-wife starts doing yoga with your BOYFRIEND…oh church!
ambivalentone
September 19, 09:34I imagine the convos go like
Penny: *stretches out in the full length Agama* Does he still squeal like a little girl as he cums?
Coyle: *contorts* Nah!!! He did mention faking dem orgasms to make u feel good about urself
Pink Panther
September 19, 10:24????? ????? Oh Ambivalentone. Ptueh!
Griffin
September 19, 11:14,????, chai!!!!
Delle
September 19, 12:27Choi, Ambi!*hands over head*
God have mercy on your mouth!
Tiercel de Claron
September 19, 14:13There were known gay royals in times past.
Albert Victor,Duke of Clarence,grandson of Queen Victoria n heir after his father,Edward VII,was widely known to be gay.
His sudden death,after his forced engagement,still has historians attributing it to either suicide or poisoning.
Last Duke of Connaught,of the Victorian line,was suspected as one too.He died rather young n unmarried too.
Keredim
September 19, 17:45..and the Queen’s late Uncle Prince George, Duke of Kent
Dowager Countess
September 19, 16:45Now, if that isn’t a right royal rumpus. I always knew one of the Windsors was Batten for the Other Team…what can I say? It’s the Queen in him. Or her. Chuckles.
Peak
September 19, 18:27Funny how no one is raising dust when he left his wife for another man or the Fact that he use to be an MGM/MBM/DL, but then again its KD. I guess scorn and baseless arguments are solely reserved for when events to cater to our personal bias.
ambivalentone
September 19, 19:45Oh boohoo!!! Apparently your addled mind still refuses to comprehend that all this is not about MGMs as MGMs. Your fixation on the hate for ppl like urself (intent to cheat once married) must be rooted in the guilt u must feel already. Don’t kill urself. As one of ur lackeys has already pointed out, ‘There is no good or bad except in ur mind’. And hey, you’re covered. A sexual being, a man, African and allowance to be polygamist (or polyamorous) under some religious or traditional guise.
Lets summarize this for you anyways. He divorced Penelope in 2011. Why??? Because he has honor perhaps? He later met Uncle Coyle in March. Until u dig up scandalous articles of his cheating during his marriage, the hate u r desperate for, u will not see it. Ur case is pathetic really
keredim
September 19, 20:01“Funny how no one is raising dust when he left his wife for another man or the Fact that he use to be an MGM/MBM/DL….”
It’s because he is white…..????
ambivalentone
September 19, 20:36Oh this too hunnay, except thankfully the wifey is just as WHITE and she’s got the support of a legal system that it isn’t sexist and based on cultural and religion biases. She squeezes his balls and gets compensated for all she is worth and good thing is- she can live without the stigma of being called ‘divorcee’ and ‘second hand baggage’
Peak
September 19, 20:56Keredim I think it’s because he isn’t Nigerian. U know how Nigerian men are worse than dirt and not worth shit…I still wonder why their hooves stays glued to dirt and shit.
THE REVEREND
September 20, 05:47And the topic changeth thusly……