Prince Philip, Princess Mako of Japan and more royals who gave up their titles for true love

What would you give up to be with the love of your life? In the case of these seven royals – from <a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/tags/0/prince-philip"><strong>Prince Philip</strong></a> to <a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/tags/0/princess-mako"><strong>Princess Mako of Japan</strong></a> – it's just about everything. <p>From Japan to Denmark, princes and princesses have forgone their claims to the throne because of a beloved – and many have never looked back. <p><strong>Click through to find out which royals gave up a title for true love...</strong> <p>Photo: &copy; Getty Images <p><p><em>– By Sarah Walker</em>
<h2>Prince Philip</h2> While the Duke of Edinburgh was part of <a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/tags/0/british-royals"><strong>the Royal Family</strong></a>, he actually had to renounce his claim to not one but two thrones when he wed <a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/tags/0/queen-elizabeth-ii"><strong>the Queen</strong></a> (who was Princess Elizabeth at the time). <p>Philip was a prince in both Greece and Denmark from birth, and gave those titles up by March 1947. He and Elizabeth wed that November. <p>Photo: &copy; Hulton Archive/Getty Images
<h2>Princess Mako</h2> <a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/tags/0/princess-mako"><strong>Princess Mako of Japan</strong></a> is one of the more recent royals to renounce their title for love. <p>Back in 2017, she declined her right to the throne in favour of marrying <strong>Kei Komuro</strong>, who is not royal. Just this past week, the two revealed they had gotten married in a simple civil ceremony and she was now known as Mako Komuro. <p>Giving her titles up wasn't necessarily her choice, though. Per Japanese royal law, a female royal must renounce her title if her partner lacks an aristocratic title. Men within the family don't have to do that if they marry someone who isn't royal. <p>Photo: &copy; SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI/AFP/Getty Images
<h2>King Edward VIII</h2> <p>This former royal is perhaps the most famous to abdicate their position for love. <p>After less than a year on the throne, Edward left London to marry <strong>Wallis Simpson</strong>. <p>"I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love," he said in his official announcement. <p>With his abdication, his brother Albert assumed the throne, becoming <strong><a href=/tags/0/king-george-vi>King George VI</a></strong> and forever altering the destiny of Edward's niece, Princess Elizabeth – who is now the current Queen. <p>Photo: &copy; Central Press/Getty Images
<h2>Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya of Thailand</h2> <p>When this princess wed the man she loved, <strong>Peter Ladd Jensen</strong>, she was forced to give up her title, even though she is the eldest daughter of <strong>King Bhumibol Adulyadej</strong>. <p>She wasn't able to reclaim her title after the couple divorced in 1998, either. Today, she is only referred to as <strong>Tunkramom Ying</strong>, which means "daughter of Queen Regent." <p>Photo: &copy; Michael Bezjian/WireImage
<h2>Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau</h2> <p>When this Dutch royal married <strong>Mable Wisse Smit</strong> in 2004, he did so without the official blessing of the Dutch Parliament, meaning he abdicated his right to the throne (had his older brother predeceased him). <p>Until his passing in 2013, though, he and his family were still considered members of the royal family, just not the Dutch Royal House. <p>Photo: &copy; RVD via Getty Images
<h2>King Carol II</h2> <p.This one-time king was forced to abdicate his throne twice: once for love when he was caught having an affair with a French woman in 1925, and then again for political reasons when he was forced into exile in 1940. He eventually wed one of his consorts, <strong>Magda Lupescu</strong>, in 1947. <p>Photo: &copy; Hulton Archive/Getty Images
<h2>Princess Sayako</h2> <p>Years before Princess Mako of Japan was forced to give up her title, there was the only daughter of former <strong>Emperor Akihito</strong>. <p>When Sayako wed a commoner, <strong>Yoshiki Kuroda</strong>, she left behind the imperial household and all the benefits that went along with it (such as receiving an allowance, for example). <p>Photo: &copy; ISSEI KATO/AFP/Getty Images
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