A new emperor for Japan – Who attended Akihitos enthronement?

On 30 April 2019 Emperor Akihito of Japan will abdicate and on 1 May 2019 his son Naruhito will be the new emperor. The enthronement is to take place on 22 October 2019, with a huge banquet taking place the next day. The big question is: which royals will attend in October? When in July 2013 Philippe became King of the Belgians and in June 2014 when Felipe became King of Spain no foreign royals attended. In April 2013 however quite a few royals attended the inauguration of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. Although in the Netherlands there were no reigning kings or queens present, mainly heirs and other royals, this might not be the case in Japan.

When looking at the guestlist for the enthronement of Emperor Akihito on 12 November 1990, the banquet that evening and a garden party the next day it turns out that list was quite impressive. There were 2,500 guests from no less than 157 countries. The ceremony itself will take place behind closed curtains. That is not the case for other festivities like garden parties, receptions and the banquet. Some events will at least have lots of tiaras, when everything is done the same as in 1990.

Who did attend the enthronement of Emperor Akihito? I had a look at pictures by Getty Images and an old report in the Vorsten Magazine of January 1991, and found a few other names online. Surpringly not only heirs, but also several heads of state attended. Additions are more than welcome.

  • The Prince of Asturias (Spain)
  • King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of the Belgians
  • King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan
  • Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei
  • Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik of Denmark
  • Crown Prince Hassan bin Talal and Crown Princess Sarvath bint Hassan of Jordan
  • Hereditary Prince Alois of LIechtenstein
  • Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg
  • Sultan Azlan Shah, King of Malaysia, and his wife Raja Permaisuri Bainun
  • Hereditary Prince Albert of Monaco
  • Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed of Morocco
  • Crown Prince Harald and Crown Princess Sonja of Norway
  • The Prince of Orange (The Netherlands)
  • King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden
  • Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn of Thailand
  • The Prince and The Princess of Wales (UK)
  • King Tanumafili II of Western Samoa

Furthermore a Tongan Princess and her husband were present, as welll as a Prince of Kuwait (Nayef?).

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