Japan's former Princess Mako and 'commoner' Komuro Kei have finally tied the knot on Tuesday after an eight-year-long engagement.
Formerly Princess Mako of Akishino, the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and niece of reigning Emperor Naruhito, has given up her royal title and privileges by marrying commoner Kei, due to Japan's strict laws of succession.
Mako has taken her husband's name and will be going by Mako Komuro, the first time in the 30-year-old's life that she has had a last name.
According to local media outlets, Mako has left her family's imperial estate in Tokyo and the newlyweds are moving to New York, where Kei works as a lawyer at a New Jersey-based firm.
Japanese media outlet NHK reports that the couple are fully supporting themselves, as Mako declined the offer of 140 million yen ($NZD 1,715,924.41) to which she was entitled for leaving the imperial family, and the former Princess is expected to find a job in New York.
The former royal is the first member of the imperial family to decline the payment since the Second World War, and reportedly did so due to the huge backlash the nuptials caused.
The couple's ceremony did not include any of the usual royal palaver, which traditionally includes parades and banquets - and in stark contrast, the couple wed at a registry office. Following the ceremony, the pair held a press conference, at which they apologised for any upset the marriage had caused.
Mako reportedly read out a prepared statement, in which she defended her decision to marry her university sweetheart, and described her new husband as "irreplaceable".
"There will be different kinds of difficulties as we start our new life, but we'll walk together as we have done so in the past,' Mako said, according to the Daily Mail.
"I sincerely hope that our society will be a place where more people can live and protect their hearts with the help of warm help and support from others."
Mako criticised local news reports written during their eight-year engagement, which she claimed spread "one-sided rumours" and caused her "sadness and pain".
The new husband also apologised for any distress the couple had caused but said that he loved Mako and would support her throughout their life together.
"I love Mako. We only get one life, and I want us to spend it with the one we love," he said.
"I feel very sad that Mako has been in a bad condition, mentally and physically, because of the false accusations."
The pair first met at Tokyo's International Christian University in 2013 and became engaged in secret, before announcing their intention to marry in September 2017.
The wedding was delayed following a financial scandal and suggestions Kei was marrying the former Princess for money.
