Former Japanese princess Mako of Akishino, who gave up her title to marry a commoner, has moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Hell’s Kitchen.
Mako, who took her husband Kei Komuro’s last name, relocated to New York after a short stint at a Tokyo apartment following their October wedding, according to the New York Post.
Komuro recently earned a law degree at Fordham University this year and works at Lowenstein Sander in New York. The ex-royal is in the process of obtaining a visa to work in the United States.
One-bedroom units at the 52nd Street building rent for at least $4,300 per month. Amenities include a rooftop lounge, gym, spa, library and golf simulator.
The couple married at a government office in late October, making her the first imperial family member to be married outside of a formal ceremony.
Mako is also the first family member since World War II to decline a payout to women who leave the family. That decision was made amid public criticism of the marriage and a financial dispute that involved her husband’s mother.
The Japanese public appears divided over the marriage, according to the Guardian. A poll from the Mainichi newspaper found 38 percent of respondents supported it, 35 percent opposed, and the remaining 26 percent were uninterested.
A Japanese weekly magazine, meanwhile, found that just five percent of respondents to a poll said they felt like celebrating the marriage.
The couple’s decision to marry and Mako’s decision to leave the family has drawn some comparisons to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s exit from the British royal family last year. The couple weren’t required by law to leave the family to marry, as were Mako and Komuro, but they similarly gave up significant income when they left the family.
They’ve since settled in Santa Barbara, California, not far from where Markle grew up.
[NYP] — Dennis Lynch
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