Getty
Just when you thought Harry and Meghan’s wedding was the royal event of the year, the royal family has announced its first gay wedding.
Lord Ivar Mountbatten (the Queen’s third cousin once removed) will make history when he weds his longtime partner James Coyle at a private chapel on his country estate later this year.
Lord Ivar came out in 2016 after his 2010 divorce from Penny Mountbatten, the mother of his three children. At the time, he revealed that he had struggled with his sexuality throughout their 16-year marriage.
Now, eight years after their divorce, Penny will walk her ex-husband down the aisle to marry his new partner.
“It makes me feel quite emotional. I’m really very touched,” Penny told the Daily Mail, revealing it was the former couple’s three daughters who came up with the idea.
Lord Ivar’s daughters, Ella, 22, Alix, 20, and Luli, 15, are all supportive of their dad’s second marriage – as are his extended relatives, including his close friend Prince Edward.
“All my good friends have accepted James. 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 him,’” Lord Ivar revealed.
While the ceremony itself will be quite small, there will be a reception for 120 people afterwards. “There won’t be two men in tuxedos on a cake,” Lord Ivar said of his progressive nuptials, which will include a cheese board instead of a cake.
Lord Ivar said he wanted to walk down the aisle again for his husband-to-be, “James hasn’t had the stable life I have. I want to be able to give [him] that.”
“I never though this would happen. It’s brilliant, but I never thought I’d marry a man,” he admitted.
We wish the couple all the best on their happy day.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
