Japan’s Princess Mako has married her non-royal college sweetheart Kei Komuro in a remarkably low-key ceremony, formally marking her departure from the royal family.
The couple submitted their registration at the local ward office around 10 a.m. local time Tuesday, according to the Imperial Household Agency, forgoing the usual pomp and circumstance of most royal weddings.
The wedding, which followed a four-year-long engagement, plagued by years of controversy, public disapproval and tabloid frenzy over a money scandal involving Komuro’s mother, comes weeks after the Imperial Royal Household announced the princess had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder from the public scrutiny surrounding her relationship, Japan’s public broadcaster reported.
In an effort to appease a disapproving public, Mako turned down a one-off million-dollar payout from the government, which she was entitled to as a departing royal.
At a press event in the afternoon, Mako appeared alongside her husband in front of a selected group of journalists. The newlyweds apologized for any trouble caused by their marriage and expressed gratitude to those who supported them.
“To me, Kei is a very important, indispensable existence,” Mako said, wearing a pastel dress and pearls. Up till today, there were only limited opportunities for me to express my feelings, and there were some misunderstandings because of that,” she said.
As the emperor’s niece, Mako wasn’t in line to the throne – Japan’s male-only succession law prevents that from happening, and under Japanese law, female members of the royal household must give up their titles and leave the palace if they marry a commoner.
Mako, who will no longer be known as princess, is not the first woman to leave the Japanese royal family. The last royal to do so was her aunt, Sayako, the only daughter of Emperor Akihito, when she married town planner Yoshiki Kuroda in 2005.
The years of speculation and slurs have taken their toll on Mako. Earlier this month, the palace disclosed that she suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The princess “feels pessimistic and finds it difficult to feel happy due to the persistent fear of her life being destroyed,” Princess Mako’s psychiatrist, Tsuyoshi Akiyama, director of NTT Medical Center Tokyo, told media at the Imperial Household Agency.
Komuro left Japan for law school in New York in 2018, and only returned in September for the wedding. He arrived in Japan sporting long hair tied in a ponytail, which set off a media frenzy.
Tabloids ran photos of 30-year-old Komuro’s ponytail from every angle, with some comparing it to a samurai’s top knot. On social media, some tweeted support for his new look, while others said it was unsuitable for the groom of a royal bride. Komuro cut off his ponytail ahead of Tuesday’s wedding.
The Japanese newlyweds are expected to move to New York City, where Komuro works at a law firm.
