Princess Mako and Her Husband Are Very Different From Harry and Meghan

• Princess Mako made a “dramatic exit” from Japan’s royal family by marrying her college sweetheart. 
• Just like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, she and her husband plan to start a new life in America. 
• While comparisons have been drawn between the couples, they’re actually very different. 

Princess Mako married her college sweetheart, Kei Komuro, on October 26 and in doing so renounced her royal title. 

The move was seen by some as controversial and even led to protests on the streets of Tokyo. Japanese outlets such as Japan Times and Aera began comparing Mako and Komuro to a certain former working royal couple: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. 

But similarities between the couples are arguably few and far between. 

Both couples have a complicated relationship with the press

Just after Mako and Komuro announced their engagement in 2017, reports that his mother was involved in a financial dispute led the Imperial Royal Household to put the wedding on hold, according to a 2018 Times of London article. Citing a report by the news magazine Shukan Shincho, the Times of London article said Komuro’s mother owed 4.3 million yen, or close to $38,000, to a businessman for a loan repayment.

Following the dispute, Komuro was seen by many as a “gold digger,” according to The New York Times.

Speaking at the press conference after they married, Mako said “arbitrary criticism” and “incorrect” reporting about her husband made her feel “great fear, stress, and sadness,” Reuters reported. Her comments came weeks after the Imperial Household Agency announced she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to media speculation in the lead-up to her wedding, The Telegraph reported.