Japan’s Princess Mako will marry a commoner, her former classmate, this month after years of controversy as she will give up her royal status, BBC News reported.
The couple is all set to tie the know on October 26.
The couple initially planned their wedding in 2018, but this was put off, reportedly after Mako’s boyfriend, Mr Komuro’s family had run into financial difficulties.
They are expected to move to the US after marriage where Mr Komuro works as a lawyer.
This excessive media coverage around the princess — whose father is Crown Prince Fumihito — and Mr Komuro’s family over the years has caused the princess to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, the Imperial Household Agency said, according to news outlet Kyodo.
Her aunt, Empress Masako, also suffered from a stress-related illness, due to intense pressure to produce a male heir. There is often a stigma around mental illnesses in Japan. The couple first met in 2012 when they were students at the International Christian University in Tokyo.
They were engaged in 2017 and were set to marry the following year. But news of Mr Komuro’s mother’s financial problems started doing the rounds; she had reportedly taken a loan from her ex-fiancé and not paid him back.
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The palace denied the delay was linked to this, though Crown Prince Fumihito said it was important for the money issues to be dealt with before they got together.
Princess Mako will reportedly forego a traditional lump-sum payment of up to 150 million yen ($1.3m), which is normally gifted to a member of the royal family upon their departure from the household.
She is also expected to skip the usual rites associated with a royal family wedding. If she skips both the payment and the rites, it will make her the first female member of the Japanese royal family to do so.
Under Japanese law, female imperial family members forfeit their status upon marriage to a “commoner” although male members do not.
