Lord Ivar Mountbatten, the cousin to Queen Elizabeth, has become the first member of the royal family to come out as gay and has spoken about his sexuality at length.

The 53-year-old, who is the great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, said he was relieved to finally be open about his sexuality but did not yet feel fully comfortable with being gay.

Mountbatten, the great-nephew of Earl Mountbatten of Burma who was murdered by the IRA, has three children with Penelope Thompson but the couple divorced in 2011.

Mountbatten said he has now told his family and friends he is gay and introduced them to his partner James Coyle, an airline cabin services director, whom he met while skiing in the Swiss resort Verbier last March.

“I am a lot happier now, though I am still not 100 per cent comfortable with being gay,” he told the Mail on Sunday.

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“‘Coming out’ is such a funny phrase but it's what I suppose I did in a rather roundabout way, emerging to a place I'm happy to be. I have struggled with my sexuality and in some ways I still do; it has been a real journey to reach this point.”

Mountbatten said he had known he was bisexual since he was a teenager but remained partially in denial about his sexuality.

“I just did not want to go there because there would have been so much grief … 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,” he explained.

“I even had girlfriends as I tried to work out what I wanted to be. It was not an easy time in my teens or 20s.”

Mountbatten informed Thompson, his then girlfriend, of the fact he bisexual before they married. “I never thought I would get married because I didn't want to be untruthful. Penny was aware before we got married. I told her I was bisexual, that my attraction went both ways. She was understanding and I will always be grateful to her.”

He said the pair eventually broke up because his wife did not feel sufficiently loved and required more than he was able to give her.

While Mountbatten is very happy with his partner, they have an agreement not to do public displays of affection unless it is a greeting to say hi or goodbye.

He said his decision to come out had been supported by his former wife, children and the wider royal family.