Kei Komuro + Princess Mako
Departure into your new life
Kei Komuro and Princess Mako
© SIPA Press / Nicolas Datiche / Pool / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Princess Mako and Kei Komuro are looking forward to their new life in the USA after the protests around their wedding. After a few unexpected blows of fate, they should now say goodbye to their old home at the weekend.
It was probably the saddest royal wedding the world has ever seen: On October 26, 2021, Princess Mako, 30, and Kei Komuro, 30, tied the knot in a simple civil wedding. This was not followed by a boisterous celebration, but a serious press conference in a barren conference room of a hotel. And instead of happy expressions of love, Mako and Kei talked about the discussions about their wedding and apologized for all the “trouble”. When asked about her condition, Princess Mako replied tersely: “Not good.” This is not how a new bride should feel.
New start with detours
And even after the wedding, things should actually go uphill for the newlyweds, but one bad news followed the next: Just three days after the marriage, Kei received the news that he had not passed the bar exam in New York. On November 4, 2021, Princess Mako’s beloved grandfather Tatsuhiko Kawashima, the father of her mother, Crown Princess Kiko, 55, died at the age of 81.
All photos of the probably saddest royal wedding in the world
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Princess Mako has to say goodbye to her family
According to Japanese media reports, the funeral will take place next Saturday, November 13th, 2021. For this reason, Mako and Kei are said to have decided to stay in Japan longer than planned and only start their new life in the USA on Sunday, one day after the funeral service.
As a source close to the couple confirmed to “The Mainichi”, Mako and Kei will fly from Tokyo to New York on November 14th. Komuro studied here and plans to repeat his bar exam next year. Until then he will continue to work as a trainee lawyer in a law firm. As the insider also knows, the couple have already found a new apartment in the city.
Princess Mako and Kei Komuro officially announced their engagement four years ago, but Mako’s father’s permission to marry was a long time coming. The reason: Kei Komuro’s family was involved in a financial scandal, and the imperial family feared that the princess’s friend was only after their money. In addition, Komuro is bourgeois, an absolute no-go for the Japanese royal family. But Princess Mako stuck to her love and voluntarily waived the traditional government payout of 1.3 million US dollars (around 1.1 million euros) and gave up her title of nobility. Her name is now Ms. Mako Komuro. For her new life, she wants one thing above all: peace and quiet. “I just want to live a quiet life in my new environment,” Mako said after their wedding. The 30-year-old is also not currently considering a spectacular interview like that of Prince Harry, 37, and Duchess Meghan, 40.
Sources used: mainichi.jp, japantimes.co.jp