The Queen's cousin Lord Ivar Mountbatten has spoken for the first time about his sexuality and how he has found love.

Lord Ivar Mountbatten, the great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, has told of his happiness with his new partner, James Coyle, an airline cabin services director.

In an interview on Saturday, the divorced father-of-three said: "I was driven into the closet by not wanting to come to terms with who I was and facing friends and family in the early years. I buried it.

"I’m just so pleased now to have found someone who I am happy to call my partner."