How many of these 13 LGBT royals did you know about?
Following Lord Ivar Mountbatten’s decision to come out, PinkNews takes some other LGBT royals.
1 Lord Ivar Mountbatten
The Queen’s cousin became the first member of the British royal family to come out as gay after revealing he is dating James Coyle.
Mountbatten is the Queen’s cousin, the great great great grandson of Queen Victoria and the great-nephew of Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
2 Emperor Ai of Han
Emperor Ai of Han was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty. He ascended the throne when he was 20 and reigned from 7 to 1 BC.
Late in his reign, he entered a relationship with court official Dong Xian, who benefited greatly from their same-sex love affair.
3 Charles I of Württemberg
Charles was King of Württemberg, from 25 June 1864 until his death in 1891.
His most notorious affair was with the American Charles Woodcock – the pair even appeared in public dressed identically.
4 Edward II of England
Edward had a controversial relationship with Piers Gaveston, with many claiming the pair were lovers.
After he was removed from the throne, he was executed by his enemies – with some legends claiming he had a red hot poker inserted up his anus due to his sexuality.
5 Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Openly homosexual, King Louis XIV’s younger brother also enjoyed dressing in women’s clothes.
As well as two wives, he had a number of male lovers, most famously the Philipe de Lorraine. The pair recently featured in historical drama Versailles.
6 Ludwig II of Bavaria
Ludwig never married, nor had any known mistresses. It is known from his diary, private letters, and other surviving personal documents, that he had strong homosexual desires
He struggled all his life to suppress his sexual desires and remain true to his Roman Catholic faith.
7 Galba
The Roman Emperor was described as “more inclined to males, and then none but the hard bodied and those past their prime” when it came to “sexual matters.”
This is the only case in Roman history where a named individual male is stated as homosexual.
8 Princess Isabella of Parma
The princess was deeply in love with her husband’s sister, Archduchess Maria Christina.
During the few years Isabella and Christina knew each other, they exchanged 200 letters expressing their affection for each other.
9 Hisham II
It is known that Hisham openly kept a male harem, who he took everywhere with him during his reign.
10 Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil
Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil is an openly gay Indian prince who runs The Lakshya Trust.
Manavendra is the son and probable heir of the Maharaja of Rajpipla in Gujarat and made headlines when he came out in 2006.
11 Catherine the Great
The Empress of Russia is as famous for her sexual appetite as she is her successes as one of the countries most successful leaders.
Intimidated by such a strong female leader, many of her enemies began rumours about the legendary monarch, claiming she took female lovers and died whilst having sex with a horse.
12 Henry VIII
Despite his obvious love of women – and wives – some historians claim Henry VIII’s sexual appetite also included men.
However, there is very little proof to substantiate the claims, with King Henry criminalising gay sex in the Buggery Act of 1533.
13 Elizabeth I
Like Catherine the Great and her own father, rumours have surrounded the powerful Elizabeth’s sexuality for centuries, with some suggesting the ‘Virgin Queen’ was actually a lesbian.
However, though she never married, the queen had a series of male suitors and would insist she was married to her kingdom and subjects.
