Princess Mako of Japan has had a big week. The 30-year-old married her longtime boyfriend Kei Komuro, giving up her status as a member of the royal family while doing so. Kei is a commoner, and Mako relinquishing her title is in line with the rules and expectations established by the government in Japan for the royal family.
Mako also dropped the title from her name and will now be known as Mako Komuro. She and her husband have plans to move to the United States.
Mako and Kei met back in 2012 when they were both students at the International Christian University in Tokyo. The pair enjoyed a long courtship, with the royal family announcing their engagement in 2017.
The two originally planned to get married in November 2018. Kei was embroiled in a financial scandal regarding his mother later in 2017, and the wedding was postponed a few months later. Kei left Japan in August 2018 to study law in the United States, and he didn't set foot in his former home again until 2021.
Kei graduated from law school in May 2021 and nearly immediately got a job at a law firm in New York. The royal family finally confirmed that the two would be married on October 1, 2021, adding that the wedding date would be October 26, 2021.
In order to marry her boyfriend, Mako gave up her royal title and also declined a payment of $1.4 million. The two got married at a registry office in Tokyo and reportedly plan to live in New York City.
Mako explained that marriage was the only option for the pair. "Kei is irreplaceable for me," she said. "For us, marriage is a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts."
For now, women in the royal family cannot inherit the throne, thus leading to situations like the one Mako and Kei were facing.
The Japanese public has been particularly hard on women in the royal family over the years. Mako's grandmother was criticized for not being an appropriate choice for her husband, and her aunt wrestled with depression after she failed to give birth to a boy.
