Queen Elizabeth's cousin to wed partner, marking royal family's first gay marriage

Just one month after Prince Harry’s wedding, the royal family is gearing up for another pair of history-making “I dos.”

Lord Ivar Mountbatten, Queen Elizabeth’s third cousin once removed, is set to marry his partner this summer in the private chapel on his country estate, marking the first gay marriage in the extended royal family’s history.

Ivar, 55, came out as gay in 2016, five years after finalizing his divorce from wife Penny.

He took his relationship with James Coyle public that same year after meeting at the Swiss ski resort village of Verbier.

“All my good friends have accepted James. I basically told everyone, ‘I’ve found somebody – it’s a bloke,’” Ivan told the Daily Mail. “They just started laughing. Then they met James and one particular mate said, ‘If I was gay, I’d certainly go for him.’ ”

Ivar said the upcoming wedding was entirely his idea, as James, an airline cabin services director, had never been married before.

“For me, what’s interesting is I don’t need to get married because I’ve been there, done that and have my wonderful children. But I’m pushing it because I think it’s important for him,” he said. “James hasn’t had the stable life I have. I want to be able to give (him) that.”

Ivar and Penny, who will walk her ex-husband down the aisle, have three daughters; Ella, 22, Alix, 20 and Luli, 15.

When he came out in 2016, Ivar told The Telegraph he struggled for many years to come to terms with his sexuality, but was “so pleased” to have finally found a compatible partner in James.

Ivar is the great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, as well as the godfather of Prince Edward’s oldest child. Edward is the son of Queen Elizabeth, and the youngest sibling of Prince Charles.