First member of the British Royal Family comes out as gay

LORD Ivar Mountbatten is the first in the extended British Royal Family to come out as gay.

The 53-year-old aristocrat revealed he has found love with James Coyle, an airline cabin services director, in an interview with the Daily Mail.

Queen's cousin Lord Ivar Mountbatten has spoken of his decision to come out as gay after finding love https://t.co/Sqrpxrzdl5

— Telegraph News (@TelegraphNews) September 17, 2016

Mountbatten is the great-great-great grandson of Queen Victoria and cousin to Queen Elizabeth II.

“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,” Mountbatten told the Daily Mail.

Supported by his ex-wife Penny, their three daughters, and his close friend Prince Edward, Mountbatten felt now was the perfect time to come out.

“‘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,” he said.

Mountbatten met Coyle at a Swiss resort in 2015.

While he says he is a lot happier now, Mountbatten admits that he is still not 100 per cent comfortable with being gay.