# LGBTQ nobility and royalty

Throughout history, members of royal and noble houses have engaged in same-sex relationships. However, even in jurisdictions where homosexuality was not prohibited or proscribed by law or religious edicts, titles of aristocracy were almost always directly transferred through married spouses of the opposite sex and their offspring (except when certain titles could be inherited by relatives upon a childless death). Nevertheless, queer relationships occurred before, during, and outside such arrangements, as romance and marriage have widely historically been seen as two very different things.
It is important to note that the terms 'homosexuality' and 'heterosexuality' did not exist until the late 19th century. For much of human history, most societies around the world did not view sexuality in modern binary terms. Indeed, many of these cultures had variously tolerated, acknowledged, accepted, or celebrated diverse sexualities and genders, before encountering Western colonial powers, Christian influence, and anti-gay mindsets.
The scope of this list is limited to sovereign rulers and aristocracy who have titles that were recognized during their lives. This list excludes baronets from the United Kingdom, the landed gentry, imposters, and pretenders, and the equivalent in other countries.

## History
### Ancient and medieval times
#### Imperial China

Several Chinese emperors had openly homosexual relationships. A famous example is that of Emperor Ai of Han and his lover, Dong Xian, whom Ai promoted quickly through government ranks and ennobled as a marquess (this despite the fact that both men were legally married to women).
Throughout written Chinese history, the role of women is given little positive emphasis, with relationships between women being especially rare. One mention by Ying Shao, who lived about 140 to 206, does relate palace women attaching themselves as husband and wife, a relationship called dui shi. He noted, "They are intensely jealous of each other."$^{:174}$

#### Ancient Rome

A number of Roman rulers had homosexual relationships, including the Emperor Trajan, the Emperor Hadrian and his lover Antinous, and the Emperor Elagabalus and his lovers Aurelius Zoticus and Hierocles.

### Europe

In many European countries, same-sex relations have historically been stigmatized, illegal, or considered sinful by Christians. Sometimes charges of homosexual relations were propagated by enemies, often rumors of such activities were denied, and sometimes same-sex lovers were acknowledged openly.
Since the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted a series of reforms (from the 1960s onward) to the honours system, few hereditary titles have been created (the last being created in 1990), while life peerages have proliferated, allowing for more openly LGBT persons to be appointed to the House of Lords. However, despite the legalization of civil partnerships for same-sex couples in 2004 and marriage for same-sex couples in 2013, spouses of ennobled civil partners have not been allowed the extension of title and privilege from their spouses' ennoblements as those accorded to married opposite-sex spouses of ennobled persons. In July 2012, Conservative MP Oliver Colvile announced a private member's bill, titled "Honours (Equality of Titles for Partners) Bill 2012-13", to amend the honours system to both allow husbands of those made dames and for civil partners of recipients to receive honours by their relationship statuses. Another bill, the Equality (Titles) Bill, which would allow for both female first-born descendants to inherit hereditary titles as well as for "husbands and civil partners" of honours recipients "to use equivalent honorary titles to those available to wives", was introduced by Lord Lucas in the House of Lords on 13 May 2013, but did not progress past Committee stage.
On 7 March 2008 Luisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia, a Spanish aristocrat, married Liliana Maria Dahlmann in a civil ceremony on her deathbed. Today, the Dowager Duchess is Liliana Maria.
In 2016, Lord Ivar Mountbatten, a cousin of the then-reigning Queen Elizabeth II, became the first member of the British aristocracy to come out as gay. He married his partner in 2018.

### South and Southeast Asia

A significant event in LGBT aristocracy occurred in 2006, when Manvendra Singh Gohil, a prince of the former princely state of Rajpipla in Gujarat, India, came out as gay to Indian media; the event caused controversy both in India and abroad, and his family unsuccessfully attempted to disinherit him.
Prince Azim of Brunei was outed in 2019, the year before his death.

## List
### Ancient Egypt

* Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum
* King Neferkare and General Sasenet
* Hatshepsut

### China

* Mizi Xia
* Duke Ling of Wey (534BCE-492BCE)
* King Anxi of Wei
* Out of the twelve recognized emperors in the Western Han dynasty (the first half of the Han dynasty), ten were recorded as having had at least one male partner. These include:
** Emperor Gaozu of Han (256-195 BCEE, lover of Ji Ru)
** Emperor Hui of Han (210-188 BCEE, lover of Hong Ru)
** Emperor Wen of Han (203/202-157 BCEE, lover of Deng Tong)
** Emperor Jing of Han (188-141 BCEE, lover of Zhou Wenren)
** Emperor Wu of Han (156-87 BCEE, lover of Han Yuan, likely also Wei Qing and Huo Qubin)
** Emperor Yuan of Han (75-33 BCEE, lover of Hong Gong and Shi Xian)
** Emperor Cheng of Han (51-7 BCEE, lover of Zhang Fang)
** Emperor Ai of Han$^{:53}$ (27-1 BCEE, lover of Dong Xian)
* Huo Guang
* Liang Ji
* Fu Jian (337-385)
* Murong Chong (359-386)
* Yu Xin (513-581) (lover of Wang Shao)
* Emperor Wen of Chen (522-566, lover of Han Zigao)
* Li Chengqian (618-645)
* Zhengde Emperor (1491-1521)$^{:142}$
* Tianqi Emperor (1605-1627)
* Heshen (1750-1799) (lover of Wei Changsheng)
* Puyi (1906-1967)
* Yoshiko Kawashima (1907-1948)

### Greece

* Philolaus of Corinth (lover of Diocles of Corinth)
* Hipparchus (lover of Harmodius and Aristogeiton)
* Pisistratus (600BCEE–527BCEE) (lover of Charmus)
* Cleisthenes (son of Sibyrtius)
* Lysander (454BCE-395BCE)
* Alcibiades (450BCEE-404BCEE)
* Charmides
* Agesilaus II (445BCEE-359BCEE) (lover of Lysander)
* Callias III (lover of Autolycus of Athens)
* Meno (423BCE-400BCE) (lover of Aristippus of Larissa and Ariaeus)
* Epaminondas (419BCEE–362BCEE)
* Pelopidas
* Demosthenes (384BCEE-322BCEE)
* Archidamus III (lover of Cleonymus)
* Philip II of Macedon (382BCEE-336BCEE) (lover of Pausanias of Orestis and his namesake Pausanias)
* Alexander the Great (356BCEE-323 BCEE, possible lover of Hephaestion)
* Demetrius I of Macedon (337BCE-283BCE)
* Cleomenes III (260BCEE-219BCEE)
* Ptolemy IV Philopator (244BCE-204BCE) (lover of Agathocles of Egypt)
* Nicomedes IV of Bithynia (theorized lover of Julius Caesar, who was nicknamed as Queen of Bithynia among Roman politicians)
* Theodosius II (401-450) (lover of Chrysaphius)
* Euphrosyne of Alexandria (410–470)
* Prince George of Greece and Denmark (1869-1957)

### Romania

* Radu the Handsome (1438-1475)
* Alexandru Iliaș

### India

* Mahmud of Ghazni (971-1030) (lover of Malik Ayaz)
* Alauddin Khalji (1266-1316) (lover of Malik Kafur)
* Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah
* Khusrau Khan
* Babur (1483-1530) (lover of Baburi Andijani)
* Vishwanath Singh (maharaja) (1866-1932)
* Manvendra Singh Gohil (1965 -)

### Hungary

* Sigismund Báthory (1573-1613)
* Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás (1877-1933) (lover of Bajazid Doda)

### Ottoman Empire and medieval Anatolia

* Ali of Eretna (1353-1380)
* Mehmed II (1432-1481) (purportedly Jacob Notaras and Radu the Handsome)
* Cem Sultan (1459-1495) (controversial)
* Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566) (purportedly Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha and Ilie II Rareș)
* Koca Sinan Pasha (1506-1596) Mihnea Turcitul

### Iran

* Ariaeus (lover of Meno)
* Darius III (380BCE–330BCE)
* Ismail I (1487-1524 CE)
* Ismail II (1537-1577)

### Vietnam

* Khải Định (1885-1925)

### Thailand

* Vajiravudh (1881-1925)

### Brunei

* Prince Azim of Brunei (1982-2020)

### Arabia

* Zimri-Lim
* Al-Hurqah (lover of Hind bint al-Khuss)
* Abd al-Rahman III (890-961)
* Al-Hakam II (915-976)
* Hisham II (966-1013)
* Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad (1040-1095) (lover of Muhammad ibn Ammar)
* Abd al-Ilah (1913-1958)
* Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Nasser (1977-)

### Austria

* Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (1742–1798)
* Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria (1842-1919)
* Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria (1847-1915)
* Prince Francis Joseph of Braganza (1879-1919)
* Archduke Wilhelm of Austria (1895-1948)
* Count László Almásy de Zsadány (1895-1951)

### Japan

* Fujiwara no Yorinaga (1120-1156) (lover of Fujiwara no Narichika)
* Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127-1192) (lover of Fujiwara no Nobuyori)
* Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) (lover of Zeami Motokiyo)
* Hosokawa Takakuni (1484-1531)
* Takeda Shingen (1521-1573)
* Kōsaka Masanobu (1527-1578)
* Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) (lover of Mori Ranmaru)
* Toyotomi Hidetsugu (1568-1595)
* Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651)
* Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646-1709) (lover of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu)
* Tokugawa Ienobu (1662-1712) (lover of Manabe Akifusa)
* Prince Kan'in Haruhito (1902-1988)

### Bulgaria

* Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (1861-1948)

### France

* Philipp III of France (1245-1285) (lover of Pierre de La Brosse)
* John II of France (1319-1364) (lover of Charles de la Cerda)
* Henry III of France (1551-1589)
* Jacques Vallée, Sieur Des Barreaux (1599-1673) (lover of Théophile de Viau)
* Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche (1637-1673)
* Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (1640-1701)
* Philippe Jules Mancini, Duke of Nevers (1641-1707)
* Philippe, Chevalier de Lorraine (1643-1702)
* Philippe Jules Mancini (1641–1707)
* François-Timoléon de Choisy (1644-1724)
* Nicolas Chalon du Blé (1652-1730)
* Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme (1654-1712)
* Chevalier de Mailly (1657-1724)
* François Louis, Prince of Conti (1664-1709)
* Julie d'Aubigny (1673–1707)
* Louis Auguste, Prince of Dombes (1700-1755)
* Louis Charles, Count of Eu (1701-1775)
* Honoré Armand de Villars (1702-1770)
* Henri-Lambert de Thibouville (1710-1784)
* Chevalier d'Éon (1728-1810)
* Charles, marquis de Villette (1736-1793)
* Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès, Duke of Parma (1753-1824)
* Paul Barras(1755-1827)
* Marquis de Custine (1790-1857)
* Prince Edmond de Polignac (1834-1901)
* Jacques Godart, 6th Marquis de Belbeuf (1850-1906)
* Robert de Montesquiou (1855-1921)
* Mathilde de Morny (1863-1944)
* Hélène van Zuylen, Baroness of Van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar (née de Rothschild, 1863-1947)
* Winnaretta Singer (1865-1943) (lover of Olga de Meyer and Renata Borgatti)
* Maurice Talvande, Count de Mauny Talvande (1866-1941)
* Élisabeth de Gramont (1875-1954)
* Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen (1880-1923)
* Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois (1895-1964)

### Germany

* Richard Puller von Hohenburg (1454-1482)
* Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (1552-1612) (lover of Wolf Rumpf)
* Augustus William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1662-1731)
* Frederick the Great (1712-1786) (lover of Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf and Peter Karl Christoph von Keith)
* Prince Henry of Prussia (1726–1802) (lover of Christian Ludwig von Kaphengst)
* Frederick I of Württemberg (1754-1816)
* Duke Gustav Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1781-1851)
* Prince Paul of Thurn and Taxis (1843-1879)
* Charles I of Württemberg (1823-1891) (lover of Charles Woodcock)
* Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886)
* Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg (1847-1921)
* Kuno von Moltke (1847-1923)
* Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851-1897)
* Frederick of Hohenau (1857-1914)
* Prince Aribert of Anhalt (1866-1933)
* Prince Maximilian of Baden (1867-1929)
* Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse (1868-1937)
* Harry Graf Kessler (1868-1937)
* Prince Friedrich Heinrich Albrecht of Prussia (1874-1940)
* Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse (1896-1980)
* Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis (1926-1990)
* Franz, Duke of Bavaria (1933-)
* Arndt von Bohlen und Halbach (1938-1986)
* Prince Egon von Fürstenberg (1946-2004)
* Ole von Beust (1955-)
* Count Gottfried von Bismarck (1962-2007)

### Aztec Empire

* Axayacatl
* Xicomecoatl (see Xicomecoatl#Xicomecoatl's sexuality and the sacrifices)

### Britain & Ireland

* Richard the Lionheart (1157-1199)
* Edward II of England (1284-1327) (lover of Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall and Hugh Despenser the Younger)
* Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke (1554-1628)
* Anthony Bacon (1558–1601)
* Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
* James VI and I (1566-1625) (lover of Richard Preston, 1st Earl of Desmond and Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset)
* George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1592-1628)
* Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon (1661-1723)
* Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex (1661-1722)
* Anne, Queen of Great Britain (1665-1714) (lover of Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham and Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough)
* Catherina Boevey (1669–1726)
* Lady Catherine Jones (1672-1740) (lover of Mary Astell and Mary Kendall)
* Ernest Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (1674-1728)
* Lady Frances Brudenell (1677-1736)
* John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey (1696-1743) (lover of Francesco Algarotti and Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester)
* John Tylney, 2nd Earl Tylney (1712-1784)
* Charlotte Charke (1713-1760)
* Horace Walpole (1717-1797)
* Caroline Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (1722-1784)
* Edward Onslow (1758-1829)
* William Courtenay, 9th Earl of Devon (1768-1835)
* George, 6th Baron Byron (a.k.a. Lord Byron) (1788-1824)
* Robert King, 4th Earl of Kingston (1796-1867)
* Henry Lygon, 5th Earl Beauchamp (1829-1866)
* Cyril Flower, 1st Baron Battersea (1843-1907) (lover of Frederic W. H. Myers)
* John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll (1845-1914)
* Lord Ronald Gower (1845-1916)
* Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929)
* Lord Henry Arthur George Somerset (1851-1926)
* Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher (1852-1930)
* Alexander Hood, 5th Duke of Bronte (1854-1937)
* Lewis Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt (1863-1922)
* Francis Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig (1867-1894)
* Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas (1870-1945)
* George Hamilton-Gordon, 2nd Baron Stanmore (1871-1957)
* George Seymour, 7th Marquess of Hertford (1871-1940)
* William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (1872-1938)
* Sir Edmund Backhouse, 2nd Baronet (1873-1944)
* Lord Berners (1883-1950)
* Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington (1885-1972)
* Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke (1886-1950)
* Ian Maitland, 15th Earl of Lauderdale (1891-1953)
* Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar (1893-1949)
* Harry Crookshank (1893-1961)
* Nadejda Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven (1896-1963)
* Oliver Baldwin, 2nd Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (1899-1958)
* Derick Heathcoat-Amory, 1st Viscount Amory (1899-1981)
* Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900-1979)
* Robert Boothby, Baron Boothby (1900-1986)
* Basil Mackenzie, 2nd Baron Amulree (1900-1983) (lover of Douglas Cooper)
* Anthony Asquith (1902-1960)
* Gavin Henderson, 2nd Baron Faringdon (1902-1977)
* Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902-1942)
* James Thomas, 1st Viscount Cilcennin (1903-1960)
* Patrick Balfour, 3rd Baron Kinross (1904-1976)
* Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton (1904-1983)
* Graham Eyres-Monsell, 2nd Viscount Monsell (1905-1994)
* Pamela Mitford (1907-1994)
* Tom Mitford (1909-1945) (lover of James Lees-Milne)
* Desmond Parsons (1910-1937) (lover of Harold Acton and James Lees-Milne)
* Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (1926-2015)
* Nicholas Eden, 2nd Earl of Avon (1930-1985)
* Antony Armstrong-Jones, Earl of Snowdon (1930-2017)
* Sheridan Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (1938-1988)
* Peter Morrison (1944-1995)
* John Hervey, 7th Marquess of Bristol (1954-1999)
* Lord Ivar Mountbatten (born 1963-)

### Korea

* Hyegong of Silla (758-780)
* Gongmin of Goryeo (1330-1374)
* Deposed Crown Princess Bong (1414–?)

### Denmark

* Christian VII of Denmark (1749-1808)
* Prince Valdemar of Denmark (1858-1939)

### Italy

* Quintus Lutatius Catulus (149-87BCE)
* Sulla (138-78BCE) (lover of Metrobius)
* Julius Caesar (100BCE–44BCE) (lover of Nicomedes IV of Bithynia, Mark Antony (he had a lover himself called as Gaius Scribonius Curio), Mamurra) because of that he mocked as Queen of Bithynia)
* Augustus, Roman Emperor (63BCE-14 CE)
* Tiberius, Roman Emperor (42BCE-37 CE)
* Caligula, Roman Emperor (12-41)
* Claudius, Roman Emperor (41-54) (lover of Mnester and Halotus)
* Nero, Roman Emperor (54-68) (lover of Sporus and Pythagoras)
* Galba, Roman Emperor (68-69)
* Otho, Roman Emperor (69)
* Vitellius, Roman Emperor (69)
* Titus, Roman Emperor (79-81)
* Nerva, Roman Emperor (30-98)
* Trajan, Roman Emperor (98-117)
* Hadrian, Roman Emperor (76-138) (lover of Antinous)
* Vibia Sabina, Roman Empress (83-136) (lover of Julia Balbilla)
* Elagabalus, Roman Emperor (218-222) (lover of Aurelius Zoticus and Hierocles)
* Constans, Roman Emperor (337-350)
* Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1194-1250)
* Brunetto Latini (1220-1294)
* Anna Sforza (1476-1497)
* Pope Julius III (1487-1555)
* Francesco Melzi (1491-1570) (lover of Leonardo da Vinci, his own pupil Andrea del Verrocchio, prostitute Jacopo Saltarelli, and Da Vinci's pupil Salaì)
* Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma (1503-1547)
* Laudomia Forteguerri (1515–1555)
* Cardinal Innocenzo Ciocchi Del Monte (1532–1577)
* Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1577-1633)
* Cardinal Stefano Pignatelli (1578-1623)
* Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1610-1670)
* Charles II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat (1629-1665)
* Hortense Mancini (1646-1699) (lover of Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex)
* Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1671-1737)
* Giuliano Dami (1683-1750)
* Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart (Henry IX in the Jacobite Succession, 1725-1807)
* Francesco Arcangeli (1737-1768)
* Eugenia Rasponi (1873-1958)
* Prince Francis Joseph of Braganza (1879-1919)
* Luisa Casati (1881-1957)
* Prince Adalberto of Savoy, Duke of Bergamo (1898-1982)
* Umberto II of Italy (1904-1983)
* Luchino Visconti (1906-1976)
* Giuseppe Patroni Griffi (1921-2005)

### Netherlands

* William III of England (1650-1702) (lover of Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle and William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland)
* William II of the Netherlands (1792-1849)

### Poland

* Bolesław II the Bold (1042-1081)
* Władysław III of Poland (1424-1444) (lover of Jan Odrowąż ze Sprowy)
* Janusz Aleksander Sanguszko (1712-1775) (lover of Jerzy Marcin Lubomirski)
* Casimir Pulaski (1745-1779)
* Prince Friedrich Heinrich Albrecht of Prussia (1874-1940)
* Alexander Hochberg (1905-1984)

### Russia

* False Dmitry I (1582-1606)
* Peter the Great (1672-1725) (lover of Alexander Danilovich Menshikov)
* Sergey Uvarov (1786-1855)
* Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (1857–1905)
* Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia (1858-1915)
* Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia (1859–1919)
* Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg (1868-1924)
* Georgy Chicherin (1872-1936)
* Maria Nirod (1879-1965)
* Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov (1887-1967)
* Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (1891–1942)
* George Hoyningen-Huene (1900-1968)

### Spain

* Henry IV of Castile (1425-1474)
* Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana (1581-1622)
* Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695)
* Louis I of Spain (1707-1724)
* Princess Isabella of Parma (1741-1763)
* Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz (1822-1902)
* Infante Luis Fernando of Spain (1888-1945)
* Prince Ataúlfo of Orléans (1913-1974)
* Luisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia (1936-2008)

### Portugal

* José de Meneses da Silveira e Castro, 2nd Marquis of Valada (1826-1895)

### Sweden

* Magnus IV of Sweden (1316-1374)
* Christina, Queen of Sweden (1626-1689) (lover of Ebba Sparre)
* Charles XII of Sweden (1682-1718)
* Gustav III (1746-1792)
* Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (1759-1818) (lover of Sophie Piper and Frederica of Baden)
* Gustav V (1858-1950)
* Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (1865-1947)

### Uganda

* Mwanga II of Buganda (1868-1903)