Mako of Japan and her husband Kei Komuro found stability in New York

They are making the best of their life and have found hobbies that include volunteering at the Metropolitan Museum

Senior Writer

OCTOBER 25, 2022 4:21 PM EDTOCT 25, 2022, 4:21 PM EDT

It has been a year since Japan’s Mako packed her royal bags and began a new life with her husband Kei Komuro, in New York. The couple, often dubbed as the Japanese Meghan and Harry , are making the best of their life and have found hobbies that include volunteering at the Metropolitan Museum.

Kei also passed the test that allowed him to practice law in the Big Apple. “This time, I have passed. I am already a member of the legal community,” the lawyer told NHK after failing in his first two tries. After graduating with a law degree from Fordham University, Komuro secured a job as a paralegal at a law firm.

JAPAN ROYALS US MAKO — Japans former princess Mako Komuro, the elder daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, boards her flight to New York with her husband Kei Komuro at Tokyo’s Haneda international airport on November 14, 2021.

Even though Mako is thousands of kilometers away from her native country, she is making sure to have her culture close; therefore, the former royal is collaborating in the Asian art room of the emblematic New York museum.

Her duties include supporting an exhibition of paintings inspired by the life of a 13th-century monk who traveled throughout Japan to introduce Buddhism. Mako graduated from the International Christian University with a degree in art and cultural heritage. In addition, she studied art history at the University of Edinburgh. She did an MA in museum and art gallery studies in 2016 at the University of Leicester, as reported by our sister magazine ¡Hola!

Japan ROYALS — Princess Mako (R), the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and her fiancee Kei Komuro (L), smile during a press conference to announce their engagement at the Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo on September 3, 2017.

The former princess and her husband live in Hell’s Kitchen, but nothing is wicked about their lifestyle. The pair rent a luxurious one-bedroom apartment for over 4,000 dollars a month, proving that they are living in stability.

The couple first announced their plans to wed four years ago in September 2017, but the ceremony was ultimately pushed off following a dispute over money between Komuro’s mother and her former fiancé concerning his having financed Komuro’s education.

At the time, the princess was asked to “leave the imperial family upon marriage to a commoner.” Mako gave up her royal titles to marry Komuro and turned down a $1.3 million payout from the Japanese government. The money is traditionally paid to royal women who lose their royal status when they marry.

Ultimately, they tied the knot on October 26, 2021 in a private ceremony unlike most Royal weddings. The Imperial Household Agency (IHA) explained that Mako and her now-husband did not want to have a big wedding “because their marriage is not celebrated by many people.”