Japanese Princess Mako has married her commoner boyfriend, Kei Komoro with whom she had been engaged for years. The couple announced their engagement in 2017 that started a massive wave of controversy in the country. After 4 years, she has finally been able to unite with her college sweetheart after facing serial criticism that landed Mako in emotional distress.
According to reports, she has lost her royal status and no longer holds the title of princess. As per Japanese law, when women of the imperial families decide to marry a commoner, they have to forfeit their status as well. However, this doesn’t apply to royal men, who can marry whoever they want without scrutiny.
Japanese Princess Announces Her Wedding
Ex-Japanese Princess and her husband announced their marriage in a press conference and addressed the public via written statements. Mako said that she was sorry for the inconvenience caused to those who disagreed with her marriage and grateful for those who supported her. She claimed that Kei was irreplaceable for her and this marriage was necessary for both of them. Her husband also spoke and expressed his feeling for the former princess.
There was no wedding function and reportedly it was not even celebrated by many people. TV footage showed Mako officially saying goodbye to her mother Princess Kiko and her sister Princess Kako of Akishino, before leaving in a car.
Princess Mako has also declined the dowry amount that she was entitled to. Reportedly, all Japanese royal women must receive a financial package when leaving the imperial family. However, Mako did not take the money, which was about 1.23 million USD in total, because of the severe criticism regarding her choice of marriage.
The Controversy Regarding her Husband
The couple of Mako and Kei was initially praised in Japan but after 2 months, an alleged money scandal emerged involving Kei’s mother. Some tabloids reported a financial clash between Kei’s mother and her ex-fiancé. A man accused both mother and son of not repaying a loan of about 35,000 USD. The scandal divided public opinion on the couple’s marriage and there was reportedly one protest as well.
Mako and Kei were about to marry in 2018 but the financial dispute caused this delay in their marriage. The ongoing clash between Mako’s mother-in-law and ex-fiancé is between deciding whether the money was a loan or a gift.
Kei left Japan in 2018 to study law in New York and just came back in September 2021. He issued a 24-page statement and claimed to settle the dispute. However, he was supporting a ponytail which caught the media attention and added to the criticism. It was said that such a hairstyle was too bold for someone who wanted to marry a princess born in a traditional family.
Doctors said that the Japanese Princess long suffered from post-traumatic disorder (PTSD) following the media’s negative coverage of her.
The First Passport of Her Life
As Mako is no longer a Japanese Princess, his father and younger brother remain in the line of succession to become emperor one day. Mako will reportedly stay in Japan for some time due to preparations including getting her first passport made. Then the couple will move to live in New York, US.
The story of Princess Mako is being compared to another famous couple, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. When they got married, there was also a lot of useless news about them on the internet. It started to become so toxic that the couple decided to leave the Royal Family and move on to live in the US.
