Japan's former Princess Mako doing volunteer work at New York's Met

MANILA, Philippines — Mako Komuro, the former princess of Japan, is currently working in New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art in an unpaid capacity, several months after she left the royal family to marry her college boyfriend Kei.

Mako is the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, and she made global headlines when she fully pursued her intent to marry Kei despite female Japanese royals not being allowed to marry commoners.

After giving up her royal titles, Mako and Kei moved to New York City to begin their new life together, with the former princess even turning down a $1.3 million (P67.5 million) payout from the Japanese government.

The Japan Times reports that Mako is doing volunteer work at the Met within the museum's Asian art collection, particularly on exhibit of paintings inspired by the life of 13th-century monk Ippen, who traveled throughout Japan as he introduced Buddhism.

The museum is only a ten-minute drive from the Manhattan apartment where Mako and Kei now reside. Kei is currently working as a paralegal in a law firm as he awaits the results of the New York bar exam, which he took for the second time.

Related: Japan's Princess Mako to marry after years of controversy

Mako graduated from the International Christian University (where she met Kei, they were engaged in 2013) with a degree in art and cultural heritage. She also studied art history for a year at Scotland's University of Edinburgh, and has a master's degree in Art Museum and Gallery Studies from the University of Leicister.

Adding to her art background is that during her time as a royal princess, Mako was a special researcher at Tokyo's University Museum, certifying her qualifications.

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