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A Japanese princess loses her royal status for marrying a “commoner”

Melissa October 27th, 2021
TOKYO, JAPAN - OCTOBER 26: Princess Mako (R), the elder daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and her husband Kei Komuro, a university friend of Princess Mako, pose during a press conference to announce their wedding at Grand Arc Hotel on October 26, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Princess Mako married Kei Komuro today at a registry office following a relationship beset with controversy following the revelation that Mr Komuro’s mother was embroiled in a financial dispute with a former fiancé. Following the wedding, Mako will renounce her royal entitlements and move with Komuro to New York. (Photo by Pool/Getty Images)

Japan’s Princess Mako has married her long time boyfriend Kei Komuro. And because of Japanese law:  female imperial family members forfeit their status upon marriage to a “commoner” although male members do not. She also declined having a royal wedding AND a payment given to leave the royal family. The two are expected to move to New York where Mr. Komuro will work as a lawyer.

“I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused and I am grateful for those… who have continued to support me,” she said, according to an NHK report. “For me, Kei is irreplaceable – marriage was a necessary choice for us.”

“I love Mako. We only get one life, and I want us to spend it with the one we love,” said Mr Komuro according to an AFP report. “I feel very sad that Mako has been in a bad condition, mentally and physically, because of the false accusations.”