Source: Mail on Sunday
Lord Ivar Mountbatten, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, has come out as gay in an interview with Mail on Sunday.
Mountbatten has broken ground as the first member of the British royal family to come out as gay. Formally married to Penelope Thompson with whom he has three children, Mountbatten says that he was aware of his sexuality before they were married.
Mountbatten had previous told his wife that he was bisexual but can now admit openly that he is a gay man.
“Penny was aware before we got married,” he told the Mail on Sunday, “I told her I was bisexual, that my attraction went both ways. She was understanding and I will always be grateful to her.”
Mountbatten says that he is now in a happy relationship with male airline cabin services director James Coyle whom he meet on a vacation in a Swiss resort last year.
“I am a lot happier now, though I am still not 100 per cent comfortable with being gay” he told the News on Sunday, reporting that it was not his ancestry but instead the generation in which he was born that forced him into the closet.
“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.
Of coming out publicly, Mountbatten says that it is part of his journey – something he is still navigating.
“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.”
Mountbatten says he has publicly come out with the support of his ex-wife and children.
