Who is British royalty and reality TV star Ivar Mountbatten?

Could he be the rebel of the British royal family? He certainly did not follow the same path as his distant cousins. It’s at the Bridewell estate in southwest England that Lord Ivar Mountbatten built his life as a newlywed and now a reality TV star, as revealed by his Instagram page, the aristocrat is part of the cast of the new season US traitors (The traitors in its French version), alongside Britney Spears’ ex-husband Sam Asghari and Zac Efron’s brother Dylan Efron.

But Ivar Mountbatten is not his first attempt. She has already featured in many reality shows like Treasure IslandA survival program in 2019 presented by the famous adventurer Bear Grylls. Since 2022, he is one of the stars of the show Following the aristocratssuch a program Keeping up with the Kardashians or even to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. During the episodes, the cameras follow the daily life of four couples of the English aristocracy. If his participation in this new program is causing division in England, Ivar Mountbatten seems to have a real need to be in front of the cameras.

A distant cousin of the Windsors

Lord Ivar Mountbatten was born in London on 9 March 1963. As a Lord, his family tree consists of members of the family of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. His father, David Mountbatten, was a first cousin of the sovereign’s husband. As for the late Queen Elizabeth II, Ivar Mountbatten is also her third cousin. As reported Vanity Fairhe would be the heir of Queen Victoria and Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India. Ivar Mountbatten likes to brag about his status in the Windsor clan, and when he appears on television, he doesn’t hesitate to point out that his cousins ​​hold the throne of England.

In Follow the aristocratshe claims to be very close to Prince Edward, the youngest of Elizabeth II’s children. A strong bond established by the younger brother of King Charles III when he asked the aristocrat to be godfather to his daughter, Princess Sophie, Lady Louise Windsor is with them and lived a royal life for a while, attending many events, posing for pictures in front of reporters and running away from the paparazzi, it is some distance since then arose. However, it is possible to see him at Royal Ascot with his family, not far from his cousins. “The family has grown a lot,” he confided Tatler, In an article dated January 10, 2025. “When we were younger, we used to go to royal events all the time. But now that everyone’s had kids, it’s true that everything has been reduced.” However, when he was young, Ivar Mountbatten followed the same path as some prominent members of the Windsors. He was educated at Gordonstoun School, the same institution attended by Prince Philip and King Charles III, before graduating from Middlebury College in Vermont, USA. degree.

First marriage

Before meeting his current husband, James Coyle, Ivar Mountbatten was married to Penelope Thompson. They married in April 1994 in a lavish wedding at St Peter and Paul’s Church in Clare, Suffolk. On their wedding day, the couple is on the cover of a magazine Greetings and posed with Queen Elizabeth II’s sister and King Charles III’s younger brother.

Lord Ivar Mountbatten and Lady Penny then took up residence at Bridewell Manor and two years later they welcomed a daughter, Prince Edward’s daughter-in-law, in 1998 with the birth of Princess Sophie and Louise’s goddaughter , life for Penelope and Ivar amen what’s not pink The couple hit a few snags and divorced in 2011 after seventeen years of marriage.Elizabeth II’s distant cousin tells her family she wants a change of scenery.She is considering selling the family home in Bridewell and plans to travel, but an encounter will eventually derail his plans.

A meeting that will change everything

Before marrying Penelope Thompson, Ivar Mountbatten was honest with her about his bisexuality. After separating from the mother of his children, the British aristocrat would not want to reveal the other side of this bisexuality, he said Tatler: “I went on a few dates, and that’s when I said to myself, ‘Do I really want to go down this road again? Even if it suited me best, because I was used to it.'” But Queen Elizabeth’s distant cousin will have no more questions to ask. While enjoying a few days of rest in Verbier, Switzerland, Ivar Mountbatten meets James Coyle.

The latter works for British Airways as a cabin crew member. Arriving at Verbier’s Farinet bar, James mistook Ivar for a ski instructor and allegedly shouted “Hello” at the aristocrat. A chance meeting that leads to a beautiful romance and then marriage. In September 2018, Ivar Mountbatten married James Coyle in a small ceremony at the private chapel of the Bridwell estate, where the couple now live. This time, the members of the Windsor family are missing, but Lady Penny is indeed present, giving her blessing to the bride and groom-to-be. “It’s our three daughters’ idea. It really touched me,” Penelope Thompson confided Daily Mail: in 2018.

Homosexuality in the Royal Family

If today Ivar Mountbatten is happy with his husband, at first he preferred to hide his homosexuality, fearing that he would reveal it to anyone but him. “It wasn’t about being Mountbatten, it was born in my generation. It was a real journey to get there,” he confided Mail on Sunday. “The royal family has never had a problem with homosexuality,” says Marc Roche Vanity Fair. “There have always been a lot of openly gay servants, butlers, etc.” But in 2016, the British aristocrat couldn’t take it anymore and came out. Ivar Mountbatten feels relieved from the burden. “I don’t think Ivar realizes how much he’s changed as a man since he came out as gay. He’s a lot calmer,” Lady Penny confided Daily Mail:. “He became a great chef and probably didn’t know that keeping his sexuality a secret would ruin his life.”

If society has evolved on this topic, so has the royal family. In the summer of 2024, Prince William said that he would not have a problem if any of his children were gay and that he would “fully support any decision”. Tatler, Ivar Mountbatten explains that his daughters immediately supported him when he announced his homosexuality. “The older generation of my family saw and did all that. In the 1940s, they were a little behind. My aunt Nada (Nadeja Mountbatten, the 2nd fighter of Milfrod Haven) was a lesbian. You have to try everything once, that’s what my mother always said,” said the British aristocrat Tatler. Away from Buckingham Palace, Ivar Mountbatten is not front and center at royal events, but he continues to live his life as a famous aristocrat, proud of his association with James Coyle’s lovers, the Windsors. And cameras.