Princess Mako of the Japanese Imperial Family married her longtime partner Kei Komuro this week, which will mean that Princess Mako officially loses her status as The Japanese Imperial Family.
Mako, now known as a 30-year-old member of the Japanese imperial family, is the niece of Emperor Naruhito and the daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito of Japan.
Japanese imperial officials said Princess Mako also rejected the 150 million yen ($1.35 million) she was entitled to after leaving the imperial family.
On September 3, 2017, when the engagement was announced in Tokyo, Princess Fumihito, Prince Akishinomiya, and Princess Mako, the eldest daughter of Princess Noriko, looked at her fiancée, Kei Komuro.
However, Princess Mako was certainly not the first member of the royal family to marry a commoner.
Here, we've collected the stories of high-profile international royals married to models, personal trainers, athletes, journalists and actors, as well as the controversy sparked by courtship.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > Swedish Prince Karl Philip married Sophia Helquist</h1>
On 13 June 2015, Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Warmland, 42, married Sofia Hellqvist, 36, a former glamorous model and reality SHOW player.
The two met in 2009 at a nightclub in Båstad, southern Sweden.
Swedish Prince Karl Philippe and Princess Sofia on the wedding day, June 13, 2015
Hellqvist was not immediately accepted by the Swedish public.
"From the beginning, Sophia was hard to accept," said Margareta Gotthardsson, a Swedish royal journalist. "She told the media that she and the prince were trying to lose love for each other because they knew it would be a struggle for them when her background came to light."
Karl Philip told Swedish television that she was accepted by his sisters, Princess Victoria, 37, and Princess Madeleine, 32, as well as her parents, King Gustav and Queen Silvia, carl XVI.
"My parents and sisters were curious about her, opened up and welcomed her with a big hug," he said in 2015, adding that she was "hung outside to dry in a bullying way" by the media.
The couple is now the parents of Prince Alexander, 5, Prince Gabriel, 4, and Prince Julian, 7 months old.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > King Felipe VI of Spain married Letizia Ortiz</h1>
Crown Prince Felipe de Borbon of Spain and Princess Letizia married Queen Sofia.
Spain's then-Crown Prince Felipe, 53, met journalist Letizia Ortiz Rocassolano, 49, at a dinner party in 2002. Fast forward 19 years, they are married, and since June 2014 has been known as King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia Juan Carlos I abdicated.
Queen Letizia was not only a commoner, she was also a divorcee, a divisive detail in Catholic Spain. She had previously married Alonso Guerrero Perez, a Spanish writer and high-Chinese teacher, until 1999.
Felipe and Letizia were engaged on November 1, 2003, and married on May 22, 2004.
The 2015 book The Court of Felipe VI speculates that she was not immediately accepted by her in-laws. According to the book by Daniel Forcada and Alberto Lardies, friends of King Juan Carlos called her a "maid" and said at the time he thought his son marrying a journalist was the "worst thing" for the Spanish royal family. The couple now has more than 60 percent support in Spain and is the parent of Princess Leonor, 15, and Princess Sofia, 14.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="23" > Prince Albert II of Monaco married Charlene Westok</h1>
On July 2, 2011, Princess Charlene of Monaco and Prince Albert II of Monaco left their religious wedding at the Prince of Monaco's palace. Getty Pictures
Prince Albert II of Monaco, 63, the son of Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly, the 63-year-old Prince of Monaco, the head of the Grimaldi family, married Charlene Wittstock, a 43-year-old South African swimmer.
The two met in 2000 at a swimming competition in Monaco, but didn't make their debut until the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
Their engagement was announced by the palace in June 2010, with the wedding scheduled for July 8 and 9, 2011. However, for meetings with the IOC, the wedding was postponed to July 1 and 2.
The couple is now the parents of twins, Princess Gabriela and 6-year-old hereditary Prince Jacques of Monaco.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="29" > Prince Harry of the United Kingdom married Meghan Markle</h1>
After their wedding in Windsor on May 19, 2018, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry traveled in a carriage to Windsor Castle. Reuter
One of the most notable royal weddings of the past decade has had to be the wedding of 37-year-old Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Six months after announcing their engagement on November 27, 2017, the British royalty married 40-year-old American suit actress Markle on May 19, 2018. After the wedding, they became Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The couple has since resigned as senior royals and announced they plan to leave in January 2020.
They spoke with Oprah Winfrey in a televised interview about the Duchess's experience as a member of the British royal family.
"In the months I was pregnant, almost at the same time ... So we had conversations at the same time, he's not going to get security, he's not going to be given a title. And, about his concerns and conversations about how dark his skin may have been at birth," Markle said in an interview in March.
"What? Who's talking to you? Winfrey asked. Did I talk to you...? Wait a minute. Is there a conversation? ”
"There were a couple of conversations... "With Harry," Megan replied.
The couple now claims to be financially independent of the royal family. In March, Prince Harry announced his job at BetterUp, a Silicon Valley coaching and mental health company, a role he hopes "has an impact on people's lives."
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="38" > Prince Frederick of Denmark married Mary Donaldson</h1>
On May 14, 2004, Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and his wife Mary Donaldson of Tasmania, Australia, were married in Copenhagen, Denmark
Denmark Crown Prince Frederick, 53, married Mary Donaldson, a 49-year-old Australian marketing consultant, on 14 May 2004 after his mother, Queen Margaret II, allowed her to do so in October 2003.
The couple met Prince Frederick while in Australia for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
They now have four children, Prince Christian, 16, Princess Isabella, 14, twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 10 years old.
Prince Frederick was the heir to the Danish throne and the eldest son of Queen Margaret II and Prince Henrik.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="44" > Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon married Mett-Mariet Jessim Hoyby</h1>
King Harald and Princess Sonia of Norway with Princess Mete-Mariet, Princess Alexandra, Crown Prince Haakon and Prince Magnus at the Royal Palace in Oslo
On August 25, 2001, The 48-year-old Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon married his 48-year-old single mother, Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby, of whom Prince Frederick of Denmark was his best man.
At the time, many Norwegians disapproved of their marriage because Mette-Marit was a single mother with a child out of wedlock and because she participated in ostracist revelry during what she described as "youth rebellion".
After the engagement, she said: "Before, I used to love shopping, but now it's just a lot of pressure. Sure, buying clothes is great for most girls, but not so good for me. What actually happened was that all of a sudden ," I needed to prepare a good wardrobe for my new role in life. Before I met Haakon, I certainly didn't have a lot of prom dresses. ”
Prince Haakon was the heir to the Norwegian throne and the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonya.
The couple had two children, Princess Ingrid, 17, and Prince Sver Magnus, 15, who was the stepfather of 24-year-old Marius Borg Hoyby, and Marius Borg Hoyby, the son of Princess Mete-Mariet's previous relationship.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="51" > King William Alexander of the Netherlands married Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti</h1>
Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti met King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in 1999 without knowing that she had met members of the royal family, let alone the Crown Prince
In 1999, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, then 54, met 50-year-old Argentine marketing manager Maxima Zoregita Cherutti at the Spring Fair in Seville. The couple said he did not introduce himself as a member of the royal family or a prince, but Alexander. When Maxima later told her that he was the heir to the Dutch throne, he thought he was joking.
Three years later, the couple married on 2 February 2002 and became King William-Alexander and Queen Maxima after the abdication of Queen Beatrix in 2013.
Their relationship is not without controversy, largely because of the role of her father, argentine politician Jorge Zorreguieta, in the military dictatorship after the 1976 coup d'état of Argentine General Jorge Rafael Videla. Zorreguieta claimed not to have known about the death in the regime, and an investigation into his involvement was conducted in the Netherlands prior to the couple's wedding. The conclusion was that he was not directly involved in the atrocities, but "almost certainly knew about them". It was decided that Zorreguieta should not attend his daughter's wedding.
The couple now has three daughters, Princess Catherine Amalia, 17, Alexia, 16, and Ariane, 14.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="57" > Prince William of England married Kate Middleton</h1>
Prince William and Kate Middleton on their wedding day on April 29, 2011
They are now best known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, but Kate Middleton, 39, was not born into a British royal or aristocratic family.
The couple met at the University of St Andrews, where they both studied, and after graduating in 2005, Middleton had several part-time jobs, including working as an accessories buyer for High Street brand Jigsaw for 12 months. Her father, Michael Middleton, is a British Airways pilot who runs Party Pieces with his wife, Carole Middleton.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton said of adjusting to royal life, "It's not like a princess school where you sit and go through the process from start to finish. You learn on your knees. You learn from experience.
"Even Catherine Middleton, my opinion of her is, yes, she has the support of her family, yes, she's British and knows what to expect, but no one can get you ready for this intensity and level to be interested in you."
The couple, who married on April 29, 2011, are now the parents of Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 6, and Prince Louis, 3. Prince William was the second in line to the English throne after his father, Prince Charles.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="64" > Crown Prince Victoria of Sweden married Daniel Westerling</h1>
On 19 June 2010, Crown Prince Victoria of Sweden and Prince Daniel, Duke of West Gotland, were married at Storkyrkan Church
Another member of the Swedish royal family who married a commoner was Princess Victoria of Sweden, 44, who was married to Daniel Westerling, 48.
A former personal trainer and gym owner, Westlin abandoned his balancing practice business in November 2009 but remains an equity partner.
Before they got married, it was confirmed that Westerling had moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Queens Island Palace in July 2008. The couple announced their engagement in February 2009 and married at Stockholm Cathedral on June 19, 2010.
Since Princess Victoria was the heir to the Swedish throne, Westerling became Prince Daniel, Duke of West Gotland, after the wedding. He took the surname of The Swedish royal family Bernadotte, which gave him the legal name of Orof Daniel Westerling Bernadotte.
The couple are the parents of Princess Estelle, 9, and Prince Oscar, 5.