Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Japan's Princess Mako gave up her crown for love. She joins a long list of royals to do so

 

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Corrections and clarifications: This version has been updated to reflect that King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne.

Japan's former princess Mako, the elder daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and her husband Kei Komuro, pose during a press conference to announce they have married, at the Grand Arc Hotel in Tokyo on October 26, 2021.© STR, JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images Japan's former princess Mako, the elder daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and her husband Kei Komuro, pose during a press conference to announce they have married, at the Grand Arc Hotel in Tokyo on October 26, 2021.

When Japan’s Princess Mako married her college sweetheart, Kei Kumoro, who happened to be a commoner, this week, due to Imperial House Law, she lost her royal status.

With that, she joined a long list of royals who gave up their crowns for love – including another Japanese Princess, Princess Ayako, who gave up her title in 2018 to marry Kei Moriya. 

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“I will leave the imperial family today, but I will remain unchanged in my support for his majesty and her majesty,” Ayako said at the time.

The princesses were forced to relinquish their titles due to Imperial House Law that says women who marry into the imperial family become members of the royal family but royal women who marry commoners must give up their status. 

Princess marries commoner: Japan's Princess Mako marries, loses royal status

Mako and her new husband are planning a move to New York – where they will follow another royal couple who moved to America: Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan, who stepped away from their roles in 2020. They said the move was because of the British media’s "toxic" coverage of Markle. 

While it wasn’t required by British law that Harry give up his title, he and Markle agreed to no longer use the titles of His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness in an agreement with Buckingham Palace officially in February of this year. Markle received the Duchess title after her wedding to Harry in 2018.

“While all are saddened by their decision, the Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family,” said a statement released by the palace in February.

Royal titles: Harry and Meghan will stop using 'royal highness' titles and repay housing expenses, palace says

They weren’t the only British royals to leave. With a decision that changed British royal history, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. And to become a British royal, Prince Phillip had to reject his royal title of birth – Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. 

Love did get him a new title though. Upon his marriage to then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947, he was given the title Duke of Edinburgh from his father-in-law, King George IV. In 1957, he was made a Prince of the United Kingdom by his wife, now Queen Elizabeth II.  

Giving up royal titles for love, as history proves though, is no guarantee it will all work out. 

In 1972, Princess Ubolratana gave up her royal titles in Thailand to marry an American, Peter Ladd Jensen. The two divorced in 1998. The princess later returned to Thailand, becoming a popular figure in the country and even attempting a run for office in 2019. Her brother, the King, however rebuked the nomination as inappropriate due to her ties to the royal family.

“Even though she relinquished her royal title in writing in line with royal rules, she still maintains her status and life as a member of the Chakri dynasty,” the palace’s statement said at the time.

For the now-former Japanese royal Mako, who first announced her intention to marry Komuro in 2017 (the wedding was delayed), there doesn’t seem to be any hesitation about leaving behind her title for love. 

“For us, our marriage was a necessary choice,” she said in a press conference, according to the Associated Press, “to live while cherishing our hearts.”

Contributing: The Associated Press

Slide 1 of 24: Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding invitation as they are prepared for postage at Buckingham Palace, on February 16, 2011 in London, England.
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1/24 SLIDES © WPA Pool, Getty Images
Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding invitation as they are prepared for postage at Buckingham Palace, on February 16, 2011 in London, England.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Japan's Princess Mako gave up her crown for love. She joins a long list of royals to do so

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