Lord Ivar Mountbatten

Ivar Alexander Michael Mountbatten was born in London, to David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven, and the former Janet Mercedes Bryce. His elder brother is George Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven. Queen Victoria was his great-great-great-grandmother, and he is a descendant of Alexander Pushkin and Abram Gannibal.^[3] He is also a second cousin of King Charles III through their respective fathers. His paternal grandfather was Prince George of Battenberg, through whom he is a morganatic descendant of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt. Mountbatten grew up at Moyns Park in Essex.^[4]

In a June 2022 interview with Tatler Mountbatten commented on the 1930s Gloria Vanderbilt child custody trial, where a maid made an allegation of a lesbian affair between the child's mother Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt and the Marchioness of Milford Haven, Mountbatten's grandmother. He stated she was a lesbian.^[5]

Mountbatten was educated at Gordonstoun School, the same school attended by Prince Philip and Charles III, and he graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont with a BA degree.

Mountbatten began his career as a geologist and spent significant time working in South America during his early career.^[6] Starting in 1995, Mountbatten began his involvement in business pursuits, including being the director of the UK subsidiary of DMX Music and being involved with Coldharbour Mill Working Wool Museum.^[7] Mountbatten was later involved with SCL Group, the parent company of the now-defunct data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica.^[1][2] Mountbatten also serves as a Deputy Lieutenant of Devon.^[8]

In 2019, Mountbatten began a career in reality television by starring in the sixth series of Treasure Island with Bear Grylls.^[2] He also appeared on Keeping up with the Aristocrats on ITV in 2022.^[9]

In October 2024, Mountbatten was announced to be part of the third season of the American reality competition series The Traitors, which premiered on 9 January 2025.^[10] He was one of the season's Faithful winners, along with Dolores Catania, Dylan Efron, and Gabby Windey.^[11]

Mountbatten married Penelope Anne Vere Thompson (born Salisbury, Wiltshire, 17 March 1966), only daughter of Colin Graham Thompson of Old Manor House, Sutton Veny, Wiltshire, and Rosemary Vere Edwardes. The ceremony took place on 23 April 1994 at the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Clare, Suffolk. They have three daughters:

• Ella Louise Georgina Mountbatten (born Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, 20 March 1996) – goddaughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh.
• Alexandra 'Alix' Nada Victoria Mountbatten (born Bridwell Park, Uffculme, Devon, 8 May 1998) – goddaughter of Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.
• Louise 'Luli' Xenia Rose Mountbatten (born Bridwell Park, 30 July 2002).

The couple separated in September 2010 and divorced amicably in November 2011, after 17 years of marriage.

In September 2016, Mountbatten revealed that he was in a relationship with James Coyle, an airline cabin services director whom he met while at a ski resort in Verbier.^[12] On 22 September 2018, they were married in a private ceremony at Bridwell Park. Mountbatten's former wife walked him down the aisle and 'gave him away' at the suggestion of their daughters.^[13]

Mountbatten is a godparent of Lady Louise Windsor (born 2003), the daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie.^[14]

Mountbatten inherited Moyns Park in 1992 along with his brother, George Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven,^[15] but in 1997 moved to Bridwell Park in Uffculme, Devon. Following his divorce from his wife, in 2015 he converted Bridwell Park into a venue for weddings, corporate functions, and business events, and in 2024 he sold the property.^[2]