Lord Ivar Mountbatten isn’t your average reality-television personality. One of the winners of the most recent season of the Peacock hit competition series The Traitors, Mountbatten is, in fact, a second cousin of King Charles II, a descendant of Queen Victoria, and a staple of British society—thanks in part to the notoriety that comes with being the first member of the extended royal family to be openly gay.

Mountbatten has referred to himself as “the grey man,” meaning that while he might appear unassuming, he’s simply flying under the radar. This much was apparent on The Traitors, which saw him make it to the end of the show’s third American season to split a hefty prize with three other contestants, Dylan Efron, Dolores Catania, and Gabby Windey.

Lord Ivar Mountbatten, a member of the extended British royal family and one of the winners of the third U.S. season of The Traitors.

Here, the day after his victory was televised, Mountbatten speaks to Town & Country about how life among Britain’s upper crust prepared him for TV’s most sinister series.

First and foremost, congratulations on your win.

Thank you. It was really good and a wildly different experience than anything I have ever done before—but that was part of the fun of it. A lot of people ask me, why do you do these things? And actually, I really enjoy being out of my comfort zone, and I think you only grow as a person when you do things that are completely different.

How did the experience stack up to your expectations? Was there anything that completely blindsided you?

Normally when I meet Americans, being a member of the royal family, I’m always asked questions about the royal family. What was the Queen like? What was Princess Diana like? All these sorts of things. Yet coming on this show, not one single person asked me a question about that at all, which was really refreshing. I thought, oh, God, it is going to be relentless—but there wasn’t a bit of it. Nobody was interested.

Lord Ivar Mountbatten (second from right) with fellow Traitors finalists Gabby Windey, Britney Haynes, and Dolores Catania.

They were probably too anxious about their own situations.

I suppose everybody’s going to have anxieties, but of course you don’t see it because they all portray themselves so well. I went away to boarding school at the age of eight, so you get very used to being thrown into the deep end, not knowing anybody, and having to fit in. In that sense, I was quite happy, and I wasn’t too phased by it. I think a lot of my American colleagues were probably a lot more thrown by it. I was quite well prepared for being locked up in a castle.

How did living the life you did before The Traitors prepare you for being on the show?

I’m used to talking to a lot of strangers. And having my last name, you do have to be on your best behavior all the time because people always remember meeting you. So, in that sense, I was very comfortable meeting other people and being nice. The thing that really threw me were those round tables; they were absolutely terrifying. I’m used to doing a lot of public speaking, but when you do public speaking, you generally either have a script or you know what you’re talking about. Going into the round tables, you are having to defend yourself against some pretty vicious people who are out to murder you or get you banished. That’s terrifying and why quite often I prefer not to say anything at all. I think that probably worked out for the best in this instance.

Speaking of your last name, there’s been a bit of news this week about how last names work for people in your world. Can you weigh in on that?

Are you referring to Meghan saying, “You know I’m Sussex now?”

“Having my last name, you do have to be on your best behavior all the time because people always remember meeting you.”

Yes. What are the actual rules?

It’s interesting because she’s completely incorrect. Her family name is not Sussex, her family name is Mountbatten-Windsor. Her children are called Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor; they’re not called Archie and Lilibet Sussex because Sussex is a title. So, they are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but actually he’s Harry Mountbatten-Windsor and she would be Meghan Mountbatten-Windsor. My brother is the Marquess of Milford Haven, but his surname is Mountbatten, so he’s called George Mountbatten, the Marquess of Milford Haven. When I read that, it was an article about her new program, and she said that her family name is Sussex.

Have you watched yet?

No, I haven’t. I might be interested to watch it; it might not last long.

I’ve seen photos of your home, and imagine you’ve spent plenty of time in castles. How does the Traitors castle stack up?

There was a comment in the British papers that Ivar Mountbatten looks like at home in the castle, and he just wants to get rid of all these interlopers. It’s a beautiful house and it’s a beautiful location, it really is. I’ve just sold my home, and I’ve now moved into a five-bedroom farmhouse, which is lovely. I love just having a small house and not having to worry about maintenance and employing people; managing people is a hard job.

Mountbatten is a second cousin of King Charles II and a descendant of Queen Victoria.

Will anything you learned on The Traitors come in useful in social settings?

I suppose understanding the fact that everybody is worried or as nervous as you probably are yourself. I think I’m quite good at putting people at ease; when I sit next to somebody and they may be a little worried about meeting me… I wouldn’t say I’m charming, but I’m friendly as possible.

Which of your co-stars do you think would fit in best among your social set?

I think Dolores probably would. She’s very friendly and we get on very well despite her voting for me every single time. But it’s a game and you don’t take it personally at all. I think Dolores would be really great, but you know what, they all would. Dorinda [Medley, another contestant], funnily enough, I got on quite well with; somebody made a comment that Dorinda was all over me at the beginning until she realized I was gay and poor. And then I never saw her again.

Are we going to see you on other TV programs going forward?

We will just see. I’d play it by ear. A lot of people say, why do you do it? And I just say, well, it’s a bit of fun and it’s harmless and why not? So yeah, yeah, just play it by ear, we’ll see.

Mountbatten won the reality competition show with a group including Gabby Windey, seen here with him at the televised reunion.

Speaking of putting people at ease, you came to the defense of one of your co-star’s brothers and his acting talent. Do you have a favorite Zac Efron movie?

High School Musical. I’ve got three daughters, and they are just enamored with Zac. Dylan came to London the other day, and they were all frightfully excited.

Is there anything you wish you had done differently on the show?

I modified my gameplay because on the very first episode, when we were in the boat rowing and there was a lot of wind, I said something about how the boys need to stay on board because we’ve got to get this back to shore. That upset a few people, particularly Bob Harper—he ran off like a scolded cat, and apparently he said that that it was very sexist. I nearly was voted out that night and I realized that I needed to go under the radar. So, after that I thought let’s just not say anything or do anything. I think in one respect that makes boring television, but it got me all the way through to the end.

Before I let you go, what’s the deal with the breakfast on the show? Every episode, the surviving cast members meet over breakfast. But is it any good?

It’s a buffet, but funnily enough, I don’t eat a lot of breakfast. I do try and fast in the morning, but I didn’t think it was bad. We were just discussing this, the four of us, and they thought the breakfast was the best meal of the day. It was cold cheeses, cold meats, boiled eggs, jam, croissants, all that sort of stuff. So, it was perfectly adequate. It’d be nice to have a proper coffee machine, but there you go.