Queen of England's cousin becomes first member of royal family to come out as gay

Lord Ivar Mountbatten, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth, has become the first member of the British royal family to come out as gay.

Lord Ivar who has three children with ex-wife Penelope (Penny) Thompson, came out over the weekend saying he had struggled with his sexuality.

But now, he said he was happy to now be in a sexual partnership with James Coyle, an airline cabin services director.

The couple met while skiing in Verbier, Switzerland.

James shouted hello to Lord Mountbatten, who is something like 700th in line to the throne, thinking he was a guide he’d been skiing with earlier. There was a mutual attraction and it all snowballed from there. At the age of 53, Mountbatten finding love with a new man makes him the most senior aristocrat of his generation, and the first in the extended Royal Family, to come out as gay.

On how his ex-wife Penelope accepted his sexuality, he said:

    "Penny was aware before we got married. I told her I was bisexual, that my attraction went both ways.

 "She was understanding and I will always be grateful to her," said Mountbatten, who is the great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.

"'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." 

Earlier this year Prince William became the first member of the royal family to give an interview to a gay magazine.