Princess Mako of Japan's husband has failed his New York bar exam.
The unfortunate news comes just days after the princess and Kei Komuro tied the knot during a brief ceremony at a registry office in Tokyo last week.
Japanese law dictates that if female members of the royal family marry 'commoners', they must forfeit their status - although this rule doesn't apply to male members.
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As well as leaving the royal family, Mako also forfeited her rights to a royal wedding and the usual parting gift of around 140 million yen (£890,000) afforded to a female royal leaving the imperial family.
The 30-year-old is the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and the niece of reigning Emperor Naruhito.
She and Mr Komuro met at Tokyo's International Christian University and were engaged for eight years before eventually getting married.
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But the couple hit a bit of a bump in the road after Mr Komuro, who currently works for a law firm in New Jersey, failed the New York State Bar Association exam.
The results were released over the past few days, with Mr Komuro's name not mentioned among the 5,791 successful candidates.
According to NHK, Mr Komuro has since discussed the results with Okuno Yoshihiko, who is the head of the law firm in Japan where he used to work.
Mr Yoshihiko claimed that Mr Komuro hasn't let the result dissuade him from following his legal career, though, and he reportedly plans to resit the exam next February.
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Speaking at a press conference last week, Ms Mako apologised for the 'inconvenience' her marriage caused before calling her new husband 'irreplaceable'.
According to NHK, she said: "I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused and I am grateful for those... who have continued to support me.
"For me, Kei is irreplaceable - marriage was a necessary choice for us."
Mr Kumuro said that he loved his new wife and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
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But despite their sweet commitment to each other, the union has been marred by controversy with many criticising the former Princess for her choice of partner.
Last week, crowds of people even gathered in a Japanese park to protest the wedding.
The scrutiny of their relationship has been so intense, Ms Mako now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, the Imperial Household Agency has said.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: World News, law, New York, Japan