Masako Woes May Alter Japan Royal Lineage

[Quetzal]

Masako Woes May Alter Japan Royal Lineage

TOKYO - Late last year, Crown Princess Masako announced she was exhausted and excused herself from royal duties. Last month, she took refuge in her family's summer home in a wooded mountain resort. Officials say they do not know when she will return.

Intelligent, affable and cosmopolitan, Masako seemed the perfect addition to the world's oldest royal family when she wed Crown Prince Naruhito 11 years ago. But imperial duties have proved almost too much for her to bear — and, experts say, her plight could bode ill for the Chrysanthemum Throne.

A flurry of reports in the tabloid press have noted it is unprecedented for the princess, who is with her mother and daughter, to stay at a private residence; that even her official attendants have limited access to her; and that although the prince has visited her twice, he spent much of his time in a hotel.

"Worries deepen over Princess Masako," said one typical report, in Shincho, a popular weekly magazine. "Is she really recovering?"

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Masako Woes May Alter Japan Royal Lineage