The princess, who will be giving up her royal titles, and her commoner boyfriend, Kei Komuro, tied the knot without any marriage rituals or a banquet. The newlyweds will settle down in New York, where Komoru has found a job at a law firm
Japan’s Princess Mako, Emperor Naruhito’s niece, has officially tied the knot with her college sweetheart, Kei Komuro, who is a commoner. Her marriage means that she has also left the royal family following an engagement that was rife with scandal and scrutiny and that has left the princess with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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Mako and Komuro first announced their engagement four years ago. While this was initially a cause for celebration, things soon took a turn when local tabloids began running stories on a money scandal involving Komuro’s mother.
Komuro’s former fiance alleged that Komuro’s mother had not repaid him a debt of about US$35,000. While Komuro issued a 24-page statement on the matter at the time and agreed to pay the settlement, this disturbed the public.
It was decided that the marriage should be postponed and Komuro left for New York to get his law degree in 2018.
The couple eventually got married this week and their marriage consisted of an official from the Imperial Household Agency (IHA), which runs the family’s lives, submitting paperwork to a local office.
The typical rituals, ceremonies and fanfare that usually accompany a royal wedding were all done away with.
Mako also made the decision to refuse the one-off payment of about US$1.35 million which is typically given to royal women who marry commoners and give up their titles to become ordinary citizens.
Local media showed Mako saying goodbye to her parents and sister, Kako, at the entrance to their home. Mako’s mother was seen fighting back tears, according to a Reuters report.
Mako then bowed formally to her family before embracing her sister.
Later, Mako and Komuro held a news conference where they again departed from custom by making a brief statement and handing out written replies to the media’s queries. Typically, royals will answer pre-submitted questions at such events.
Mako is currently recovering from what palace doctors described as a form of traumatic stress disorder. This comes after years of intense, and sometimes negative, media coverage about her marriage.
Mako has now taken her husband’s name to become Mako Komuro and will move to New York with him. However, Mako is scheduled to remain on her own in Tokyo for a period of time to prepare for her move and to apply for a passport for the first time in her life.
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