In the late 80s, rumours often circulated about Prince Edward’s sexuality. For a while, there was even a club in London called The Queen’s Youngest Son. Not very subtle… Then, in 1990, the Daily Mirror reported that while working for Andrew Lloyd Webber, Edward got so angry that he was quoted as saying: “It’s just outrageous to suggest this sort of thing. It’s so unfair to me and my family. How would you feel if someone said you were gay?” Although no one would probably feel that upset today, Edward’s outburst broke the tradition about members of the Royal Family speaking out about their private lives.
The fact of the matter is the rumours were never based on any evidence or fact, and time seems to have shown them to have been totally unfounded. After all, Edward is the only one of the late Elizabeth II’s children to have made their marriage work first time around. However, there have been — and still are — plenty of gay royals in the UK. Probably the best known is Lord Ivar Mountbatten. Although he married Penny Thompson in 1994 and has three children, the great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria came out as gay in 2016 and tied the knot with his partner James Coyle just reported at the time that he was given away by his ex-wife and, although no members of the Royal Family were there, Prince Edward (not him again!) and his wife Sophie sent a message of congratulations.
