Queen's cousin reveals he is gay and in relationship with air steward – and family are completely supportive

Father-of-three Lord Ivar Mountbatten has found love with partner James Coyle

Lord Ivar Mountbatten

Lord Ivar Mountbatten has confessed that he's not fully comfortable being a gay man despite finding love with boyfriend James Coyle.

The 53-year-old has become the first member of the extended Royal Family to “come out” as a gay man, and his family are completely supportive.

Mountbatten, who is cousin to The Queen and the son of the 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven, he is the great-great-great- grandson of Queen Victoria, who has three children with his ex-wife is godfather to Lady Louise Windsor.

And his friend Prince Edward and his wife Sophie are godparents to two of his daughters and have been supportive.

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Lord Ivar Mountbatten has found love with boyfriend James Coyle

“Now everyone in our family knows and could not be more supportive. Neither of us wanted to have relationships which were transitory; the stereotypical view of gay relationships is that they are too fleeting, too frequent,” he told the Mail on Sunday.

Mountbatten admitted that he'd never considered getting married again, but it could be on the cards with airline cabin services director James.

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Front row (left to right) HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, HRH The Earl of Wessex, HRH The Countess of Wessex holding Lady Louise, Mr and Mrs Christopher Rhys-Jones, back row (left to right) Lord Ivar Mountbatten, Lady Alexandra Etherington, Lady Sarah Chatto, Mrs Urs Schwarzenbach and Mr Rupert Elliott

“If you'd raised that six months or even two weeks ago, I'd have said 'No way'. But now it's out there [he means the fact he's gay], anything is possible,” he said.

“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 couple have restored the Georgian mansion at Bridwell Park – which is now a top wedding location - regularly spend time with Mountbatten's former wife Penny, who lives just a few yards away and comes round for dinner once a week.

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Lord Ivar Mountbatten said 'living with a man is really new'
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Mountbatten is godfather to Lady Louise

Despite being happy with his family, Mountbatten confessed that he's not always “comfortable” with his sexuality.

“ I am a lot happier now, though I am still not 100 per cent comfortable with being gay,” he said.

“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.”