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6 LGBT royals to know, from Queen Elizabeth’s relative to the first out gay prince

Lord Ivar Mountbatten, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil and Prince Egon von Fürstenberg are all LGBT. Photos: Getty Images
Lord Ivar Mountbatten, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil and Prince Egon von Fürstenberg are all LGBT. Photos: Getty Images
Royalty

  • Diane von Furstenberg’s ex, Prince Egon, was bisexual, while Prince Manvendra advocates for Aids prevention in India

The 2023 film Red, White and Royal Blue, starring Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine, isn’t the only queer royal love story.

Many royals of the past had to keep their LGBTQ+ identities a secret. However, some modern royals like Prince Manvendra of India and Lord Ivar Mountbatten are breaking barriers by being out-and-proud members of the royal class.

Prince Manvendra has founded the Lakshya Trust, a non-profit organisation that focuses on HIV and Aids prevention in India, as well as education, gender equity and other philanthropic and social causes. He is also fighting to end the practice of conversion “therapy” in the country, which is still legal.

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This Pride Month, here are six LGBTQ+ royals you may not have read about in your history books.

1. Princess Isabella of Parma

Princess Isabella of Parma, Archduchess of Austria; there is speculation about whether she and her sister-in-law were romantically involved. Photo: Getty Images
Princess Isabella of Parma, Archduchess of Austria; there is speculation about whether she and her sister-in-law were romantically involved. Photo: Getty Images

Princess Isabella of Parma exchanged hundreds of letters with her sister-in-law that implied the pair’s relationship was more than friendly.

Princess Isabella of Parma, who lived between 1741 and 1763, never confirmed she was bisexual, and was even married to a man, Archduke Joseph of Austria. However, speculation remains about the royal’s sexuality and whether she had a romantic relationship with her sister-in-law on her brother’s side, Archduchess Maria Christina.

The pair exchanged letters “constantly” back and forth over the years, according to Making Queer History, and many of them appear to be romantically affectionate in nature.

“I cannot tolerate this uncertainty, I can think of nothing but that I am madly in love,” Princess Isabella reportedly wrote in one letter. “If only I knew why this is so, for you are so cruel that one should not love you, but I cannot help myself.”

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