Japan’s Princess Mako & Kei Komuro welcomed their first child in New York

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In 2021, royal gossip turned to Japan and the saga of Princess Mako’s love affair with Kei Komuro. Kei and Mako had been in love for the better part of a decade, and Mako had (at that time) already called off their engagement at least one time. Kei even moved to New York to pursue his law studies, yet he and Mako were still together. Kei returned to Japan in 2021, he married Mako and he brought her to New York. It was Japan’s version of the Sussexit – by marrying a “commoner,” Mako had to leave the Japanese Imperial family. Reportedly, Mako and Kei live pretty quiet lives in New York – he works for a law firm and she was volunteering at the Met. I hadn’t seen any gossip about them in a few years. Well, it looks like they welcomed their first child!

Japan’s former Princess Mako has given birth to her first child, Japan’s Imperial Household Agency confirmed on Friday, May 30.

Few details were shared by palace officials, who did not reveal the baby’s gender or date of birth, but did say that both mother and child were doing well, according to reports from the Associated Press and The Japan Times.

Mako’s child is the first grandchild for Japan’s Crown Prince and Crown Princess, who also share children Princess Kako and Prince Hisahito, according to The Japan Times.

Grand Master of the Crown Prince’s Household Naomasa Yoshida shared in a May 30 press conference that the palace was officially announcing the arrival of Mako’s child following reports that she had given birth.

“This is a matter for a person who has left the Imperial Family, and we had hoped that she would spend her time in a quiet environment,” the grand master said, per The Japan Times. “We decided to make the announcement, however, in light of some media reports [about the birth].”

Mako welcomed her child with her husband Kei Komuro, her former classmate from International Christian University in Tokyo. The former princess, who is Emperor Naruhito’s niece, left Japan’s royal family and gave up her royal status in order to marry Komuro — who is a commoner — in 2021. They later moved to New York, where Komuro is a lawyer.

[From People]

“Mako’s child is the first grandchild for Japan’s Crown Prince and Crown Princess” is wild. Let me look something up… Mako’s sister Kako is around 30 years old and she’s unmarried. Kako will likely be in the same boat as Mako if and when she marries – she’ll have to “leave” the family and have her royal status withdrawn. Prince Hisahito is only 18 – it’s pretty early to pressure Mako’s brother to provide an heir. The whole reason why Hisahito is the second in line to the throne is because Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, only have one child, Aiko, Princess Toshi. Japan still hasn’t overthrown their strict male-only primogeniture rules. Anyway, congrats to Mako and Kei! I hope they’re living a lovely life in New York.

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Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.