Japan’s Princess Mako, the niece of the emperor, married college sweetheart Kei Komuro on Tuesday, giving up her royal title and saying she was determined to build a happy life with her irreplaceable husband after a tumultuous engagement.
In an unusually frank joint news conference with her new husband, Mako said false news reports about Komuro had caused her great sadness, stress, and fear. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) earlier this year after a four-year engagement plagued by money scandals and intense media scrutiny.
Under Japanese law, female imperial family members forfeit their status upon marriage to a "commoner" although male members do not. She also skipped the usual rites of a royal wedding and turned down a payment offered to royal females upon their departure from the family. She is the first female member of the royal family to decline both.
The two were married in the morning after an official from the Imperial Household Agency (IHA), which runs the family’s lives, submitted paperwork to a local office registering their marriage.
The couple is expected to move to the US - where Mr. Komuro works as a lawyer - after marriage. The move has drawn inevitable comparisons with British royals, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, earning the newlyweds the nickname "Japan's Harry and Meghan".
In an unusually frank joint news conference with her new husband, Mako said false news reports about Komuro had caused her great sadness, stress, and fear. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) earlier this year after a four-year engagement plagued by money scandals and intense media scrutiny.
Under Japanese law, female imperial family members forfeit their status upon marriage to a "commoner" although male members do not. She also skipped the usual rites of a royal wedding and turned down a payment offered to royal females upon their departure from the family. She is the first female member of the royal family to decline both.
The two were married in the morning after an official from the Imperial Household Agency (IHA), which runs the family’s lives, submitted paperwork to a local office registering their marriage.
The couple is expected to move to the US - where Mr. Komuro works as a lawyer - after marriage. The move has drawn inevitable comparisons with British royals, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, earning the newlyweds the nickname "Japan's Harry and Meghan".
