Ex-Princess Who Married Commoner Now a New Yorker

"Princess Mako," who is in actuality no longer a princess, arrived in the US Sunday. The daughter of Japan's Crown Prince Akishino gave up her royal title to marry a commoner, and he has a job at a law firm in New York City, the BBC reports. He also attended law school there. The couple, who have been together since college and are both 30, are expected to rent an apartment in the city. Their move to the states has long been rumored.

Mako's new husband Kei Komuro, however, reportedly failed New York state's bar exam, so he's working as a legal clerk for the time being. The couple has been called "Japan's Harry and Meghan" due to Mako's exiting the royal family; the niece of Emperor Naruhito is the first female member of the royal family to decline both the royal wedding rites as well as the payment women are offered upon leaving the royal family.

The wedding followed years of outcry over the relationship and what the Guardian calls a "minor financial scandal" involving the ex-princess's new mother-in-law, and Mako Komuro suffered complex post-traumatic stress disorder following all the media attention paid to her situation. She has called Komuro "someone I cannot do without." (More Japan stories.)