The British Royal Family is set to have its first same-sex wedding

Lord Ivar Mountbatten's ex-wife will walk him down the aisle.

Lord Ivar Mountbatten

Source: Getty Images

The dust might have only just settled on Harry and Meghan's extravagant ceremony, but the British Royal Family is getting ready to celebrate love all over again - this time with its first ever same-sex wedding.

Queen Elizabeth's third cousin once removed, 55-year-old Lord Ivar Mountbatten, is set to wed his long-term partner, James Coyle, at a private chapel in Devon.
Lord Ivar was divorced from his wife and the mother of his three children, Penny Mountbatten, in 2010.

However, the pair have since developed a close relationship - with Penny set to walk her ex-husband down the aisle.

Speaking to , Penny said: “It makes me feel quite emotional. I’m really very touched."

She continued: “Ivar is so much more relaxed these days. He’s so much kinder. He’s become a great cook.”

“He probably wasn’t even aware that by keeping his sexuality a secret it was really quite tormenting him."

“Now it’s ‘out’ he’s a completely different person. Everybody says they’ve never seen him happier,” she added.
Despite admitting that he had lived his "whole life as a heterosexual" prior to coming out, Lord Ivar said his pending nuptials were a way of displaying his “acceptance of this great love”.

“All my good friends have accepted James," he added.

"I basically told everyone: ‘I’ve found somebody — it’s a bloke.’ They just started laughing. Then they met James and one particular mate said: ‘If I was gay, I’d certainly go for him.'"
Lord Ivar also told Daily Mail that he was motivated by creating a stable life for his long-term partner.

"I really wanted to do it for James," he said.

"He hasn't been married. For me, what's interesting is I don't need to get married because I've been there, done that and have my wonderful children; but I'm pushing it because I think it's important for him. James hasn't had the stable life I have."

He concluded: "I want to be able to give you that."


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Published 18 June 2018 11:30am
Updated 21 June 2018 3:31pm
By Samuel Leighton-Dore


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