AT 53 years old, Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin Lord Ivar Mountbatten has become the first openly gay member of the British royal family.

    In an extensive interview with the Daily Mail on Saturday, Mountbatten spoke at length about his lifelong struggles to come to terms with his sexuality; his relationship with James Coyle, an airline cabin services director he met while on vacation; and his family’s overwhelming acceptance when he told them the truth.

    “‘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,” he said. “I have struggled with my sexuality and in some ways I still do; it has been a real journey to reach this point.”

    While Mountbatten says that he is “still not 100 percent comfortable” with being gay, he admits that he is much happier since coming out and that he’s received his family’s full support. He went on to explain that when he was younger, he identified as bisexual and told his then-girlfriend Penny Thompson before they got married. “She was understanding and I will always be grateful to her.”

    The couple had three children together before getting divorced in 2011.

    “I was driven into the closet by not wanting to come to terms with who I was and facing friends and family in the early years,” Mountbatten said. “I buried it. I even had girlfriends as I tried to work out what I wanted to be.”

    “It was not an easy time in my teens or 20s,” he continued. “I’m just so pleased now to have found someone who I am happy to call my partner.”(SD-Agencies)