As the ‘first gay royal’, I owe everything to those who struggled for LGBT acceptance

To those who have suffered and indeed still suffer prejudice, persecution and even live under the threat of a death sentence, I am humbled and in gratitude to them, writes Lord Ivar Mountbatten

Members of the LGBT+ community at last year’s Pride parade in London (Getty)

The journey to attending my first Gay Pride event, where I found myself proudly waving a rainbow flag as I marched behind an enormous rainbow tractor (gloriously named Sassy Ferguson for the day) began many years ago, at a time when such a public display would have been deemed unimaginable in my social circles.

I always knew that I liked boys more than girls, being born at a time when homosexuality was illegal and far from normalised. I simply buried it and got on with my life. In many ways not having a father (he died when I was seven) or indeed any dominant male figure in my life, together with a protective older brother, meant that as a young gay child I never sought the need to be validated by anyone. Nor, conversely, did I experience the cruelty and pain of invalidation which leaves so many young people with crippling insecurities as they mature.

I fell in love with Penny, and we married in 1994. I had decided that I would never enter such a union without full disclosure and so when we discussed my sexuality, I was heartened by her understanding and acceptance. Seventeen years and three beautiful daughters later, we sadly divorced.