Princess Mako of Japan has announced she is [engaged to commoner Kei Komuro, a former university classmate.
The pair held a press conference yesterday to confirm the happy news and adorably compared their love to the sun and the moon.
“Together with Mr. Komuro, I would like to make a warm and peaceful family that is full of smiles,” Princess Mako announced after the Emperor approved of their engagement during a ceremony Sunday morning.
“I was first attracted to his bright smiles that seemed like the sun,” she blushed.
Komuro, in response, said Princess Mako “has been quietly watching over me like the moon.”
“I would like to have a family that is always calm and peaceful.”
The pair met while studying at International Christian University five years ago and spent a year dating long-distance while Princess Mako studied in England and Komuro in America.
“We were far from each other for a long period of time, but we continued contacting each other, and deepened our relationship,” Komuro said.
He also revealed that he actually proposed way back in December 2013 by saying: “Let’s get married in the future.”
Despite the union being accepted by her parents, under the Imperial House Law, princesses are obliged to leave the royal family should they choose to marry a commoner.
Princess Mako’s 83-year-old grandfather, Emperor Akihito, is expected to abdicate next year – Japan’s first abdication in two centuries.
Princess Mako’s sacrifice for love has reignited a national debate in Japan about whether women should be allowed to retain Imperial status after marriage and rise to the throne.
Currently, Imperial House Law allows only a male to take the throne, and the family currently has only one young male, Mako’s younger brother 10-year-old Prince Hisahito.
We can’t wait for a royal wedding, and we expect Her Imperial Highness Princess Mako of Akishino will be breaking down some royal barriers as she makes her way down the aisle.
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