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Royal fans have much to rejoice in 2018 with the revelation a third Royal Family wedding is in our midst, just weeks after the Windsor Castle nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The public is already eagerly anticipating the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in October at St George’s Chapel.
But the great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, who came out as the first openly gay Royal Family member in 2016, has revealed he is to pip Eugenie to the post.
But who is he?
Lord Ivar Mountbatten, the Queen’s 55-year-old cousin and son of the 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven, is set to marry after finding love with James Coyle, 56.
The pair will marry in a private ceremony at Lord Mountbatten’s Devon Estate – with Lord Mountbatten’s ex-wife Penelope Thompson agreeing to give him away at the request of his three children.
She told the Daily Mail: “It was the girls’ idea. It makes me feel quite emotional. I’m really very touched.”
Lord Ivar met his current partner in the luxury ski resort Verbier in March 2016, five years after he divorced his ex-wife.
His shock revelation in 2016 that he had struggled with his sexuality throughout his 16-year marriage caused ripples at the time.
Lord Mountbatten’s extended Royal Family do know about his wedding but are unable to attend, despite being “really excited” for him.
How significant is this wedding?
Although Lord Mountbatten is not strictly a member of the Royal Family he the first monarch’s extended relative to be openly gay and that is significant, according to a royal commentator.
Richard Fitzwilliams exclusively told Express.co.uk: “It isn’t necessary for the Royal Family to be ahead of the times necessarily, but they certainly mustn’t fall behind the times.”
“I think it is definitely a sign of the Royal Family embracing the modern age and staying relevant.”
Who is Lord Ivar Mountbatten?
Mountbatten was born in London and attended Gordonstoun School, where Prince Charles and Prince Philip both went.
He later graduated with a BA degree at Middlebury College in Vermont.
He is godparent to The Earl and Countess of Wessex’s eldest child, Lady Louise Windsor.
After meeting his future wife Penny in his late 20s, Lord Mountbatten confessed within two months of meeting her that he was openly attracted to men.
At the time, the pair were just friends but their relationship blossomed and they later “fell in love”, Penny told The Daily Mail.
Fifteen years into their marriage, Penny left her husband after the pair both struggled to make it work.
They remain close and the businesswoman said her former husband “has changed as a man since ‘he came out’, acknowledging Mr Coyle for the change who she describes as “fun”.
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