The only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako has officially made her debut and will become a working royal
Japan’s got a new princess to watch: Princess Aiko.
The only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako turned 20 on Wednesday, December 1, and celebrated her coming of age with a ceremony at the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo over the weekend.
Wearing a white gown, gloves, diamond tiara (more on this later) and a fan, the princess took part in a series of highly elaborate rituals marking her move to become a full-fledged working member of Japan’s Imperial Family. The princess first visited the Three Palace Sanctuaries at the palace to pay respects to the Imperial Family’s ancestors and deities, following which, she was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown from the Emperor in the Houou no Ma hall, Tatler UK reports.
Later in the day, the princess also formally greeted her parents, paid a visit to her grandparents—Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko—for the first time at the Sentro Kari Gosho temporary Imperial residence in Tokyo, and received celebratory wishes from other members of the Imperial Family, including Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, and also from the heads of the three branches of government, according to reports.
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“I would like to refine myself and move forward step by step so that I can grow into an adult who can be of service to others,” the princess said in a statement released by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan.
Her coming-of-age ceremony, while grand, was a rather simple affair, which pundits speculate was done on purpose to deflect media attention following the marriage of her cousin, the former Princess Mako. It was held over the weekend so as not to disrupt the princess’s studies at the Gakushuin University in Tokyo, and the traditional press conference held after a royal’s coming-of-age ceremony has been postponed to next March.
Currently, Princess Aiko is not eligible to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, thanks to an archaic law that limits it to only male royals.
Here, find out five things you need to know about Japan’s newest working royal.
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