In a rather historic occasion for the British monarchy, the Royal Family has witnessed its first same-sex Royal Wedding. Lord Ivar Mountbatten, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, tied the knot with long-time partner James Coyle on the weekend, two years after coming out as gay.
The father of three exchanged vows in front of a crowd of 60 family and friends, and according to reports, it was his ex-wife Lady Penny Mountbatten who walked him down the aisle. It is still unclear if any other members of the Royal Family were present, the Queen included. The ceremony took place in a private chapel at Bridwell Park, followed by a reception at the orangery.
Lord Mountbatten took to his Instagram to share photos of the lavish wedding. “Well, we did it finally! It was an amazing day despite the miserable British weather,” said a caption to one of his photos. He also shared a photo of his three daughters, and wrote, “Most importantly, a massive thanks to my three gorgeous girls for being so understanding and supportive, without their support this could never have happened!” Apparently, it was the girls’ idea to have their mum walk him down the aisle.
The festivities lasted the entire weekend, and was kicked off with a welcome dinner on Friday night hosted by the couple. The ceremony took place on Saturday afternoon followed by a fun dinner at the Orangery, complete with delectable food, champagne, speeches and lots of dancing. The couple shunned the cake cutting tradition, but cutting a two-tiered collection of their favourite cheeses instead. The guests were asked not to bring gifts but to make a donation to Regain, a charity for people with Spinal injuries.
In 2016, Lord Mountbatten admitted to having struggled with this sexuality throughout his 17 year-long marriage. He knew he was bisexual since he was a teenager, and his wife Penny was also aware of the same. But nevertheless, he says, she was “understanding” and he “will always be grateful to her”.
He admitted to being gay when he got into a relationship with James whom he met in the Swiss alpine resort of Verbier. The two will jet off to their honeymoon later this year, and while the location still hasn’t been decided, it will most likely be a choice between Greece or Croatia, reports suggest.
Although the Queen hasn’t been very vocal about her views on issues pertaining to the LGBTQ community, in 2017, at the State Opening of the Parliament, she pledged to protect the community and ‘tackle’ the discrimination made on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender, and race, among many.
In another speech given in 2003, she vowed to increase “equality and social justice by bringing forward legislation on the registration of civil partnerships between same-sex couples.” Prince William also made history by becoming the first ever royal to appear on the cover of a gay publication.
