Princess Ayako, the youngest daughter of Emperor Akihito’s late cousin, officially lost her royal status after tying the knot with commoner Kei Moriya at a ceremony at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine on Monday, Oct. 29.
After the ceremony, their marriage was legally registered in Tokyo’s Minato Ward.
The 28-year-old Japanese royal married the 32-year-old shipping firm employee in a traditional court attire which features a kimono robe and hakama pant. Her hair was styled in the osuberakashi ancient style for noblewomen.
They only had 30 wedding guests to witness their exchange of rings and wedding vows.
“How happy I am that many people have celebrated (our marriage). We want to make efforts to become a couple like my mother and father,” Princess Ayako told Kyodo News.
Her husband also said that he is looking forward to “build a family full of smiles”.
In an article published by Japan Times, the princess was quoted to have said that she hit it off with her husband from the time they first met last December 2017 at the introduction of her mother, Princess Hisako.
Now that Princess Ayako has lost her royal status, the number of Imperial family members falls to 18, with 13 of them female.
The Imperial Law states that a woman will lose her title if she will marry a commoner.
However, Imperial Household Agency officials said before Princess Ayako’s marriage that she will retain honorary positions at two organizations despite no longer being part of the Imperial family.
The princess will still receive a money worth ¥107 million ($950,000) in order to maintain her high standard of living even after she loses her royal status, according to the law on Imperial household finance.
