It was a love story Disney would have killed to get their hands on: a Japanese princess relinquishes her crown to marry her one true love.
The 25-year-old Princess Mako, granddaughter of Japan’s Emperor Akihito, and law student Kei Komuro announced their engagement in September 2017, professing their love in what has to be one of the world’s most romantic press conferences ever.
At the time, palace officials told press the wedding would take place in 2018, but now it’s been pushed back: until 2020.
According to a statement released by Japan’s imperial palace, Princess Mako has made the decision due to “insufficient preparations,” Nine News reports.
“We have come to realise the lack of time to make sufficient preparations for various events leading up to our marriage this autumn and our life afterwards,” Ms Mako says in the statement. “We believe that we have rushed various things too much.”
The Princess and Komuro met five years ago while studying at Tokyo’s International Christian University.
Japanese imperial law demands that royalty must give up their titles if they wish to marry outside the aristocracy. Princess Mako isn’t the first to do so – her aunt Sayako gave up the crown to marry a town planner in 2005.
