Princess Mako took off from the royal family of Japan. And a few months after saying goodbye to her royal titles, the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Akishino is sticking to her guns. No way for her to be bought by the government of her country. She has just refused a payment of 1.3 million dollars. A sum traditionally paid by the government to royal women who lose their royal status when they marry, reports People. Princess Mako of Japan currently volunteers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A new life she started in New York a few months ago. By marrying the commoner, her college sweetheart, Kei Komoro, she said goodbye to her royal titles. In the Big Apple, the 30-year-old works in the MET’s Asian art collection and notably participated in the preparation of an exhibition of paintings inspired by the life of a 13th century monk who traveled across Japan to introduce Buddhism.
Where does the couple live?
The former princess of Japan, who was able to count on the support of her cousin Princess Aiko of Japan, indeed has all the qualifications for this position since she is a graduate of the International Christian University, where she met her husband Kei Komoro. She came out with a degree in art and cultural heritage, having also studied art history at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) and that of Leicester (United Kingdom). “She’s skilled and probably handles pieces in the collection. In general, it is work that requires a lot of preparation and often means spending a lot of time in the library.“, said a former curator of the MET. For his part, her husband works in a law firm in Manhattan. The couple lives only a few minutes from the Fifth Avenue museum.