Will Mako and Kei be the Japanese Harry and Meghan?

A young royal, seen as a potential future star, falls in love with a commoner and chooses to leave the gilded cage and a life of dutiful service to marry and live a ‘normal’ life in America. The match is controversial for various reasons, not least the royal’s mental health and the non-royal’s family problems; but, after a certain amount of reflection, the marriage goes ahead. The couple settles into a new life stateside, and…

Sound familiar? The tale of Princess Mako, the 29-year-old niece of Japanese emperor Naruhito, and her fiancé Kei Komuro is a sort of miniaturised inverted Japanese version of the Meghan and Harry story, albeit with a few twists. One difference is that Mako and Kei will not have a stylish wedding, with no carriage and not even a ceremony. The event, scheduled for October 26, will be so low key and perfunctory that, just like a Japanese execution, the public will not know any of the details until after it has happened.