Japan witnessed an atypical imperial wedding on Tuesday.
Princess Mako, niece of Emperor Naruhito and daughter of her younger brother, Crown Prince Fumihito, married her fiancé, commoner Kei Komuro, but without lavish celebrations or traditional Japanese rites, thus losing her royal status.
The couple limited themselves to registering their marriage in the civil registry and later gave a press conference in which they apologized before any inconvenience that might have caused.
Their love story did not have a fairy tale ending.
Princess Mako of Japan and her now husband, Kei Komuro, during the press conference after their simple wedding on October 26, 2021 in Tokyo.Nicolas Datiche / AP
After announcing their engagement in September 2017, they were splattered by the economic dispute that Komuro's mother has with her ex-boyfriend, who claims $ 35,000 from her.
Public opinion rejected the princess's fiancé and the Japanese Imperial House ended up announcing that the wedding, scheduled for November 2018, was postponed.
[This is Harry and Meghan Markle's official position on Lilibet's christening]
The controversy has damaged the mental health of the princess, who has suffered from
post-traumatic stress disorder
for
a
long time
because she feels "unable to escape" from the attacks that the couple received.
The princess and her husband have not given up their life project together, but to fulfill her wish, Mako has given up many things: the main one, her family.
In video: The meeting of tourists with bears on a road in Japan
Oct. 8, 202100: 20
The emperor's niece has given up the roughly $ 1.3 million that is awarded as compensation to royal women when they lose their imperial status.
She also chose not to use taxpayer money to organize traditional wedding celebrations, to leave Japan and start a new life in the United States with her husband.
"For me, Kei-san is an irreplaceable person. Our marriage was a necessary choice to live caressing our hearts," Mako declared during the press conference.
"I love Mako," Komuro said from his side, "and I want to spend my only life with the person I love."
Kate Middleton turns into a modern 'Cinderella' with romantic dress
Oct. 18, 202101: 11
The couple's dramatic departure from real life has garnered media attention in Japan and abroad, drawing comparisons to the story of Britain's Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle.
Mako and Komuro, both in their 30s, met in 2012 while studying at Tokyo International Christian University.
In a statement, Fumihito, better known as Prince Akishino, said he approved of his daughter's "unprecedented marriage", in part because she and Komuro had "never wavered" in their plans despite opposition.
[This is how they remember Princess Diana, 24 years after her tragic death]
But its history has also focused on the succession crisis suffered by the Japanese monarchy.
With the accession to the throne limited to men, the imperial family is running out of members.
The future of the crown thus rests on the shoulders of Mako's brother, Prince Hisahito, 15, the only heir of his generation.
With information from
NBC News
and The Associated Press