Queen Elizabeth's cousin Lord Ivar Mountbatten says it was 'alarming' to be named 'the first gay royal'
- Lord Ivar Mountbatten said it was "alarming" to be named Britain's "first gay royal."
- Queen Elizabeth's cousin wrote an essay in The Independent about his coming out experience.
Lord Ivar Mountbatten, cousin to the late Queen Elizabeth II, opened up in an essay for The Independent about what it was like to come out as Britain's "first gay royal."
The essay published on Sunday was titled "As the 'first gay royal', I owe everything to those who struggled for LGBT acceptance."
In the essay, Mountbatten wrote about attending Brighton Pride for the first time with his husband, James Coyle, in 2019, and added that his coming out experience was "a lot less traumatic" than Coyle's, who he said endured "rejection, bullying and abuse."
"That said, having the world's press shine a huge spotlight on me overnight proclaiming me 'The First Gay Royal' was nonetheless pretty alarming," Mountbatten wrote.
"The reaction of my friends and family concerned me a lot, and I wondered if my world would suddenly collapse around me," he added.
Mountbatten was previously married to a woman named Penny for 17 years and they have three daughters together. He had been open with Penny about his sexuality, Mountbatten wrote, and after they divorced in 2011 he started dating men.
As Insider previously reported, Mountbatten came out in 2016 and he became the first British royal to have a same-sex wedding when he and Coyle tied the knot in Devon, England, in 2018.
The Daily Mail reported at the time that Penny walked Mountbatten down the aisle, which was their daughters' idea.
The ceremony was attended by 60 people, but no royal family members were in attendance, Insider previously reported.
Mountbatten went on to write that his initial fears over his family's reaction were "unfounded."
"Absolutely everyone was incredibly supportive, and it soon became clear that in the scheme of things, your sexuality is of no significance to others. In my case, it's fair to say that once I had made that very public leap out of the closet, I wondered what all the fuss was about," he wrote.
"To those who have suffered and indeed still suffer prejudice, persecution and even live under the threat of a death sentence, I am humbled and in gratitude to them. For them, I will continue to raise my rainbow flag with pride," he added later in the essay.
Mountbatten also unveiled plans to host Queer Spirit, a four-day festival that celebrates all things queer at his home in Bridwell Park, a country house estate in Devon, England, between August 17 and August 21. Prices for weekend tickets start at £125, or around $155 for adults, and concession weekend tickets cost £75, or around $93.
Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.