Love is love, as they say, so it’s no surprise that royals around the world have fallen in love with commoners over the years. While some, like Kate Middleton, were welcomed with open arms, others haven’t had it quite so easy. Just ask paralegal Kei Komuro, who recently wed Japan’s Princess Mako. Here are 21 commoners who married into royalty. Grace Kelly became royalty after tying the knot with Rainier III, the Prince of Monaco Grace Kelly, the daughter of a three-time Olympic gold medallist in rowing, began her acting career in 1950, but she retired in 1956 to marry Rainier III. They had met during a photo shoot at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, one Grace almost skipped. The couple married a year later and had three children. In 1982, she suffered a minor stroke while driving and was critically injured when the car went over the edge of a 45-foot embankment. Grace died the following night at the hospital. 13 of the most swoon-worthy royal engagement rings ever – who wore them? Michiko Shōda, former Empress of Japan, met her future husband, then-Crown Prince Akihito, while playing tennis in 1957 Though many officials opposed the relationship because of Michiko’s lineage, the couple were granted permission to marry in 1959, establishing Michiko as the first commoner to marry into the imperial family. They have three children. Why did Diana’s mum change the princess’ will after her death? Sonja Haraldsen, Queen of Norway, tied the knot with then-Crown Prince Harald Sonja first met the then-Crown Prince Harald in 1959. Nine years later, in March 1968, the king gave his permission for the two to marry, as she was a commoner, and they married in August 1968. They have two children . She became queen when her husband ascended to the throne in 1991. Silvia Sommerlath was working as a hostess at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich when she met then-Prince Carl Gustaf of Sweden The prince ascended to the throne after the death of his grandfather in 1973. The couple married in 1976 – making Silvia the queen of Sweden – and they have three children and eight grandchildren. The 5 most expensive items on sale at Prince Charles’ Highgrove House shop Masako Owada, now Empress Consort of Japan, married then-Crown Prince Naruhito in the 1990s Masako graduated from Harvard with a degree in economics and returned to Japan to study law at the University of Tokyo in 1986. That same year, she met Crown Prince Naruhito (Michiko Shōda’s son) while attending a tea for the Duchess of Lugo. She accepted after two proposals, and the couple wed in 1993. She gave birth to a daughter, Aiko, in 2001. Rania Al-Abdullah, who had worked in marketing, became the queen of Jordan after marrying Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein Before marrying Abdullah bin al-Hussein, Rania worked in marketing for Citibank, and she later took a job at Apple in Amman. She met the future king at a dinner party in August 1992 and they were married in June 1993. Abdullah ascended to the throne after his father’s death in 1999, making Rania the queen . They have four children. Not just Meghan Markle: 7 British royals who tried acting Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, now the Crown Princess of Norway, was a single mother when she married into royalty Mette-Marit first met Crown Prince Haakon at a garden party during the Quart Festival, Norway’s largest rock festival. When the two met again years later, she was a single mother. They married in 2001 and have since added two more kids to the family. Máxima Zorreguieta became Queen of the Netherlands after exchanging vows with Prince Willem-Alexander Máxima holds a degree in economics and was serving as the vice-president of institutional sales at Deutsche Bank in New York City when she met Prince Willem-Alexander in 1999. They met in Spain during the Seville Fair, and it was there that the prince introduced himself solely as “Alexander”. She said she didn’t know he was a prince until later. They were married in 2002 and have three daughters. Máxima is considered a commoner, though she is a descendant of King Afonso III of Portugal through her father. 6 royal and celebrity BFF duos that you might not know about … Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano was a journalist and news anchor before marrying then-Prince Felipe VI and eventually becoming queen of Spain The prince and Letizia married in 2004 ( her second marriage ). The couple has two daughters. Prince Felipe became the king after his father abdicated the throne in 2014, establishing Letizia as the queen of Spain. The Princess of Wales wasn’t a commoner exactly – Diana Spencer was born into nobility, but it was marrying Prince Charles that made her royalty The “ people’s princess ” came from a noble family and became Lady Diana in 1975, after her father inherited the title of earl. Diana then became the Princess of Wales following her marriage to Prince Charles, and they had two children, William and Harry. Diana and Charles divorced in August 1996, and nearly a year later Diana was killed in a car accident. Hats off: 10 of the most bizarre British royal wedding fascinators Former South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock married Prince Albert II, the Prince of Monaco She met Prince Albert II (Grace Kelly’s son) during a swimming meet in Monaco in 2000. The couple went public in 2006 at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics and married in July 2011. Charlene, who became the Princess of Monaco, gave birth to fraternal twins in 2014. Princess Marie of Denmark went by the name Marie Agathe Odile Cavallier before marrying royalty Marie had an established career in marketing when she first met Prince Joachim (Prince Frederik’s brother) at a party held by a mutual friend. Though she had initial doubts about marrying into the royal family, the couple tied the knot in May 2008. They have two children, and Marie is also stepmother to the prince’s two sons from his first marriage. Inside Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s ‘Palace of Secrets’, The Carlyle Commoner Daniel Westling took on the title of Prince of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, with his marriage to Crown Princess Victoria Daniel was a gym owner and trainer when he met Crown Princess Victoria in 2001, after she attended a training session of his. He started Balance, a gym company, in 2006, but stepped down as CEO in 2009. The two married in June 2010 and have two children. Kate Middleton was studying art history at the University of St. Andrews when she met Prince William in 2001 After dating on-and-off for a number of years, the couple married on April 29, 2011, and millions of people around the world tuned in to watch the ceremony. They have three children: Prince George (born July 2013), Princess Charlotte (born May 2015) and Prince Louis (born in April 2018). The 5 most awkward curtsies to royals – plus one of the cutest The Queen of Bhutan was known as Jetsun Pema prior to her royal wedding It is rumoured that Jetsun Pema met Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk at a picnic when she was seven and he was 17, and that he promised to marry her when they grew up. Jigme became king in 2008, following his father’s abdication. The couple married in 2011 (Jetsun was 21), and they had their first child in February 2016. Before becoming Princess of Sweden and Duchess of Värmland, Sofia Hellqvist was a model and reality TV contestant Prince Carl Philip and Sofia began dating in 2010 and married in June 2015. Their first child, Prince Alexander, was born in April 2016. They welcomed their second child, Prince Gabriel, in August 2017, and their third, Prince Julian, in March 2021. What are the British royal family’s favourite watches? Meghan Markle became the Duchess of Sussex after exchanging vows with Prince Harry Meghan Markle and Prince Harry officially wed on May 19, 2018, in a ceremony at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Markle worked as an actress, activist, fashion designer and entrepreneur before meeting the prince. She also participated in the UN’s Women’s Political Participation and Leadership programme. The couple stepped back from their royal duties in January 2020 and eventually settled in California , where they continue to run their non-profit organisation, Archewell. They have two children, Archie and Lilibet . Jack Brooksbank doesn’t have a royal title, but he married royalty Jack Brooksbank, a brand ambassador for George Clooney’s tequila company Casamigos, married Princess Eugenie in October 2018 . Eugenie is the youngest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Queen Elizabeth II is her grandmother. Eugenie and Brooksbank welcomed their son, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, on February 9. Why Princess Diana’s final resting place got a US$27 million revamp King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand married his personal bodyguard and long-time partner General Suthida Tidjai, now known as Queen Suthida On May 1,2019, the king of Thailand married Suthida Tidjai in a lavish surprise ceremony where he poured sacred water on her head. Suthida worked as a flight attendant on Thai Airways and later became a general in Thailand’s army before joining Vajiralongkorn’s security detail. Crown jewels: Camilla Parker Bowles’ most stand-out jewellery pieces Businessman Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi is an Italian count, but he married into royalty when he wed Princess Beatrice in July 2020 Beatrice began dating Mapelli Mozzi, who comes from a family of Italian aristocrats , in the autumn of 2018, but the two had known each other for much longer and been family friends for years. Beatrice and Mapelli Mozzi married in a socially distanced ceremony on July 17, 2020, which was attended by their parents, the queen, and the late Duke of Edinburgh. The couple welcomed their first baby , Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, in September. Party time? 4 of most decadent British royal birthday bashes Japan’s Princess Mako met her husband, Kei Komuro, in college. The pair recently held a press conference announcing their marriage The low-key wedding, which followed a four-year-long engagement , came weeks after the Imperial Royal Household announced that the princess had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder from the public scrutiny surrounding her relationship. The controversy stemmed from Komuro’s mother’s failure to repay 4.3 million yen, around US$35,000, to her ex-fiancé. Komuro issued a 24-page statement in 2021 where he said he would settle the payment. What do the British royal family’s face mask choices say about them? “The flow of arbitrary criticism of Kei’s actions, as well as one-sided speculation that ignored my feelings, made falsehoods somehow seem like reality and turn into an unprovoked story that spread,” Mako said at the press conference. Mako also rejected the US$1.3 million payout offered to female members of the family who lose royal status by marrying “commoners”. This article originally appeared on Business Insider Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .