WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
The emperors of Japan celebrate 31 years of marriage about to travel to the United Kingdom
Infanta Elena had a peculiar role in their love story
The emperors of Japan, Naruhito and Masako This June 9, they celebrate 31 years of marriage and they do so on the verge of a new and important international trip. This same week, Buckingham Palace announced the details of the first state trip in which King Charles III will host since his return to the public agenda was confirmed, after several weeks away from the media spotlight as a result of his treatment. for cancer.
It will be at the end of the month of June, specifically, from June 25 to 28 when Naruhito and Masako will be received by the Kings Charles III and Camilla and by the Prince of Wales, Guillermo, as Kate Middleton continues to focus on her treatment. However, the emperors will arrive in the United Kingdom a few days earlier, during which they will be focused on private commitments.
31 years of marriage, five years on the throne
At the moment, it has not been confirmed how the Imperial House plans to celebrate this 31st wedding anniversary, which falls just five years after the enthronement of Naruhito of Japan in 2019, one of the most important ceremonies in the royal sphere of the last years. But what is a fact is that the love story of Naruhito and Masako has Infanta Elena as its indirect protagonist.
The Duchess of Lugo played, to a certain extent, a strategic role in the romance of the current emperors of Japan. In 1986, the House of HM the King announced a private trip for Infanta Elena to the country of the Rising Sun. A six-day trip, with a not very extensive agenda, which included the inauguration of an exhibition dedicated to El Greco and a reception organized by Emperor Hirohito, Naruhito’s grandfather. In this event, in addition, it was planned that the sister of Felipe VI would enjoy the traditional tea ceremony.
However, this commitment was used to invite a group of about 30 carefully chosen women, so that Prince Naruhito could meet single girls and, who knows, find a candidate for future empress. Among them was Masako, although her name was not included in the initial list. The current empress had just returned from the United States and was focused on her studies.
As it turned out, Naruhito was absolutely captivated by her., but the situation was complicated because Masako was not an ideal candidate. On the one hand, she did not have the 100% Japanese training expected of a future empress, she was a commoner and her grandfather had been involved in an environmental scandal. However, for Naruhito they were not enough reasons.
At first, Masako did not want to go ahead with a possible romance, especially because it became the focus of media interest, and such was the pressure that she went to Oxford and rejected the prince. However, in the end, the Government asked the press to reduce the pressure and, after a kind of ‘blackout’ of a year, Naruhito and Masako resumed their romance. The prince promised to protect her from her throughout her life and the engagement took place in April 1993.
The engagement ceremony, Nosai-no-Gi, took place at Masako’s parents’ home, where the bride was given gifts such as six bottles of sake, fish, and five bolts of silk. The wedding would take place in the month of June, on the 9th, in a Shinto rite ceremony that lasted three days. Masako wore a traditional twelve-layer silk kimono, but she first participated in the traditional purification rite. She also wore an ivory-hued dress, which she completed with a stunning diamond tiara. 31 years have passed since then.
