Crown Prince Naruhito will visit Europe next month to attend wedding ceremonies for the Danish and Spanish royal families and pay a goodwill visit to Portugal.
The Imperial Household Agency said Tuesday the prince will attend the wedding ceremonies of Danish Crown Prince Frederik and his Australian fiancee, Mary Donaldson, on May 14, and Spanish Prince Felipe and fiancee Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano on May 22.
The Crown Prince, the eldest son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, will stay in Portugal between May 15 and 20 to attend a state banquet and other functions, it said.
His wife, Crown Princess Masako, will not accompany him. She is suffering poor health caused by stress and has not performed official duties since December, following a bout of shingles. The agency has not revealed the nature of the princess' poor health.
The Crown Princess returned to Tokyo on Monday after spending a month at a vacation home in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, with her daughter, 2-year-old Princess Aiko, and her mother, Yumiko Owada, according to Hideki Hayashida, grand master of the Crown Prince's Household.
The agency decided to have the princess and her family return to Tokyo ahead of the Golden Week holidays that begin this week as the number of visitors to Karuizawa will increase.