Japanese Princess Mako Will Ditch Her Princess Title To Be With Her College Sweetheart

I love my boyfriend a lot. But do I love him so much that I would sacrifice my royal title to spend the rest of my life with him? Well, I, unfortunately, don't have a royal title to lose, so I can't say with complete confidence what I would do. But I have a feeling it would be a really tough decision — a really tough decision that Princess Mako of Japan had to make. Who is Princess Mako of Japan, you ask? Well, at 25 years old, she is the eldest granddaughter of Emperor Akihito.

Princess Mako started making her way into the headlines back in May when her family first announced her intention to marry her college boyfriend, Kei Komuro. The big drama with their intention to get married? Komuro is — wait for it — not a royal. Yep, that's right. Just like the plot of an old-time romance novel, the princess fell in love with a lowly commoner. Gasp!!!

The two 25-year-olds started falling in love five years ago when they were both in college together. In a press conference, Princess Mako explained how they fell for each other: "First I was attracted by [Komuro's] bright smile.” When she introduced him to her parents, she told them he was the guy she was going to “share her future with.”

But the whole "sharing her future with him" thing is much more complicated than it seems. You would think that in a world where Prince William married his college sweetheart, Kate Middleton, and the two have effectively become the world's most loved and adored couple, marrying a commoner wouldn't be such a big deal. But for the Japanese royal family, marrying a commoner is still a pretty big freaking deal.

How big of a deal? Well, such a big deal that Princess Mako was forced to choose between marrying her bae and keeping her royal title. Now, the time has come for her to choose, and she has chosen… DRUMROLL PLEASE… love.

Since World War II, Princess Mako will be the eighth person in the Japanese royal family to make such a decision. By dropping her royal title, she leaves her dad and 10-year-old brother as the first and second in line for the crown.

Would you drop your royal title to be with your bae forever? Comment your thoughts below!

Check out the “Best of Elite Daily” stream in the Bustle App for more stories just like this!