Yetthe House of Windsorare newcomers when compared to the ancient Imperial House of Japan.
Masako followed in his footsteps.
AsPeoplereported, the crown prince was infatuated and they began to date.
They had much in common; both had studied abroad, experiencing life outside the confines of Japan.
That period in his life, in fact, remained a defining experience for him.
Naruhito popped the question.
He proposed again, and she once said no.
He was only able to finally persuade her, she said, when he made her a solemn vow.
It would eventually emerge that those comparisons were apt in more than just superficial ways.
Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako know this all too well.
In the years since their wedding, media speculation about a royal baby had escalated to a fever pitch.
The couple would not have any other children.
Naruhito’s brother, Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino, is the heir presumptive to the throne.
Eventually, all that strain came to manifest itself physically.
“In my eyes, she appears totally exhausted from it.”
Masako was reportedly being treated for her condition with a combination of therapy and medication.
The prince announced that she’d be stepping away from the public eye for the immediate future.
As for when she might return, he couldn’t say.
“It may take longer for her to recover than we had originally thought,” he observed.
And that was that.
She retreated, and in the years that followed, appeared in public only sporadically.
Gradually, she began stepping into the spotlight a bit more frequently.
Still, these were baby steps; she was still a few years ago from making any public statements.
Appearing in a video alongside her husband, she seemed relaxed and content.
His firstborn son became Japan’s 126th monarch, Emperor Naruhito, while his wife became Empress Masako.
The newly installed empress followed her husband’s lead as she prepared to reign by his side.
“He is a caring person.
He is a humble person.
“He doesn’t look at everything in terms of what it means for him,” George added.
“He looks at it in terms of what it means for the people around him.”
As with the Instagram posts of Britain’s royal family, there’s little spontaneity to be seen.
“Masako and I are always reminiscing about the happy and irreplaceable days we experienced in Oxford.”
