Lord Ivar Mountbatten wed James Coyle as he wanted to 'validate him'

‘It couldn’t have been easy being Lord Ivar Mountbatten’s boyfriend’: Queen’s cousin admits he pushed to marry his partner James Coyle in ‘royal family’s first gay wedding’ because he wanted to ‘validate him’

  • Lord Ivar Mountbatten married James Coyle two years after coming out as gay 
  • Ivar’s marriage to Penny ended in 2011 – but she gave him away down the aisle 
  • Wedding in 2018 was the first ever same-sex marriage in extended Royal Family

The Queen’s cousin Lord Ivar Mountbatten has opened up about his marriage to his husband James Coyle, a Glaswegian airline cabin services director. 

This evening the couple will appear on ITV’s one-off documentary The Queen and Her Cousins with Alexander Armstrong and discuss one of the reasons behind their marriage. 

Lord Ivar, son of the 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven and third cousin of the Queen, admits he pushed James to wed, explaining: ‘I wanted to validate him and give him a position as it couldn’t have been easy being Ivar Mountbatten’s “boyfriend”.’

The aristocrat farmer, who spent lockdown at his family’s Grade I-listed home, Bridwell Park, near the village of Uffculme in Devon, with James, his ex-wife Lady Penny and their three adult daughters Ella, Alix, and Luli, made headlines when he became the first member of the extend royal family to have a same-sex wedding. 

The Queen’s cousin Lord Ivar Mountbatten (pictured) has opened up about his marriage to his husband James Coyle, a Glaswegian airline cabin services director

This evening the couple (pictured) will appear on ITV’s one-off documentary The Queen and Her Cousins with Alexander Armstrong and discuss one of the reasons behind their marriage

Lord Ivar, son of the 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven and third cousin of the Queen, admits he pushed James (pictured together) to wed, explaining: ‘I wanted to validate him and give him a position as it couldn’t have been easy being Ivar Mountbatten’s “boyfriend”.’

Speaking to host Alexander, Lord Ivar said: ‘James never really wanted to get married, and I pushed him.

‘Only because I wanted to validate him and give him a position as it couldn’t have been easy being Ivar Mountbatten’s “boyfriend”.’

James then claims that the couple are the first same-sex marriage ‘in any royal dynasty… absolutely… I’ve made history,’ he jokes.

The programme explains that while no official statement was made, their nuptials in 2018 had the full blessing of the whole royal family.

When asked about a title, James reveals that he doesn’t get one and to take Lord Ivar’s surname he would need to change his by deed poll. 

The aristocrat farmer (pictured right) made headlines when he became the first member of the extend royal family to have a same-sex wedding

Speaking to host Alexander, Lord Ivar said: ‘James (pictured) never really wanted to get married, and I pushed him’

‘I mean I get called Lady Mountbatten at work a lot,’ admits James. ‘And I get curtsies and all sorts. Sometimes you’re in the mood for it and sometimes you’re having a rotten morning and somebody flies out the door and dips with a curtsy and you just want to…’

When asked if in private the Firm is ‘a normal family’, Lord Ivar says: ‘Yes, absolutely. That’s what everyone seems to forget.’

He went on: ‘We all have our ups and downs, everybody has their own internal arguments – it’s the same anywhere.’ 

The programme explains that while no official statement was made, the couple’s (pictured dining with host Alexander) nuptials in 2018 had the full blessing of the whole royal family

When asked if in private the Firm is ‘a normal family’, Lord Ivar (pictured right) says: ‘Yes, absolutely. That’s what everyone seems to forget’

Lord Ivar and James (pictured left) hosting a dinner with presenter Alexander (pictured right) during the programme

However, he confesses that ‘you will always remember the Queen is the Queen’, and she is addressed appropriately as ‘Your Majesty’ and then ‘ma’am’. 

‘It’s like when we went to school you would always call the headmaster “Sir”. You wouldn’t think anything of it,’ says Lord Ivar.

ITV’s one-off documentary has been made to mark the Queen’s 95th birthday and follows Alexander as he meets with some of Her Majesty’s extended family who share previously hidden details about the monarch.  

ITV’s one-off documentary has been made to mark the Queen’s 95th birthday and follows Alexander (pictured left, with the couple) as he meets with some of Her Majesty’s extended family who share previously hidden details about the monarch

Lord Ivar was joined by his husband James and his ex-wife Penny, as well as their three children, during lockdown (pictured)

In 2018, Lord Ivar and James exchanged vows in front of 60 family and friends at the private chapel at Bridwell Park — and celebrated with a lavish reception in the orangery. 

The Grade I-listed mansion near the village of Uffculme in Devon, where Lord and Lady Mountbatten settled and raised their family, is now run by the pair as an official wedding venue.

Lady Penny, from whom Lord Ivar was divorced ten years ago, is incredibly supportive of the union and even gave her former husband away at the ceremony.

The Queen and Her Cousins with Alexander Armstrong airs at 9pm on ITV 

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