Lord Ivar Mountbatten says he's happier than he's ever been thanks to finding love.

Lord Ivar Mountbatten, cousin to Queen Elizabeth, has spoken publicly for the first time about being gay and finding love.

“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,” he told the Mail. “I buried it.”

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He said it wasn’t his being royalty that was the problem, but rather the times.

“When I was growing up, it was known as ’the love that dare not speak its name,'” says the 53-year-old. “But what’s amazing now is how far we have all come in terms of acceptance.”

Lord Ivar, a descendant of Catherine the Great and the great-great grandson of Queen Victoria, married Penelope Thompson in 1994. The couple had three daughters—Ella, Alexandra, and Louise—before divorcing in 2011.

“In an ideal world, I know the girls would like their mother and father still to be together, but they love the 21st century family that we have built, too,” he explains. “Their father has a boyfriend—it’s that complicated and that simple. Finding James means I will not have to lie to anyone or grow old on my own.”

Ivar met boyfriend, airline cabin services director James Coyle, last March while on vacation in Switzerland. Coyle has met members of the royal family and socializes with Lord Ivar’s ex-wife and children.

If I were 2 marry Lord Ivar Mountbatten I'd only have 2 wait 4 499 to die before bcoming Queen #LGBT @RoyalFamily pic.twitter.com/oUVsxQ4erF — Sr Iona Dubble-Wyde (@Sisteridw) September 17, 2016

While he’s still “not 100% comfortable with being gay,” Lord Ivar says he is happier now than he’s ever been.

“I have struggled with my sexuality and in some ways I still do; it has been a real journey to reach this point.”

Though there have been rumors over the years—including that Ivar’s cousin, Lord Louis Mountbatten, was bisexual and had an affair with King Edward VIII—Lord Ivar is the first openly gay member of the British royal family.

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