Japan’s Princess Marries Commoner, Losses Royal Status

Princess Mako married Kei Komura this Tuesday. Why did the groom’s mother reject a royal? Find why there was a 3-year delay in this royal affair right out of your wildest dreams now.

Everybody has come across Disney stories where a royal born falls head over heels for a commoner and relinquishes their title and riches just to live their share of a happily ever after together.

Princess Mako and Kei Komura’s story was no different. The love birds were classmates at Tokyo’s International Christian University. They made their engagement official in 2017 and got married in 2021 against several criticisms from family members, media, and the public.

Apparently, Komura’s mother had accepted dowry from another family to get her son married to their daughter. According to Japanese culture, a couple is considered unofficially married soon after the families exchange gifts. Thus, the love story between the classmates got construed as an affair, making the masses look down on the couple.

Mako is the niece of Emperor Naruhito who was succeeded by her father Akishino. She rejected the $1.23 million her family offered to her as dowry and is about to fly to New York where Komura resides. Komura enrolled in law school in 2018 and arrived to steal his princess in a ponytail last month. Komura’s social status and behavior have raised eyebrows in Japan and several consider him to be unfit for a princess.

But love is blind and the choice is made. Mako would get a surname for the first time because the Imperial law doesn’t allow royal female offspring to have family surnames and restricts them to just their title.

The issue has been settled at present. The couple got married legally without a traditional wedding. Mako informed the press that it“was a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts.”