Japan's Princess Kako of Akishino to study at University of Leeds

Students enrolled at the University of Leeds this September will find themselves rubbing shoulders with royalty as the institution welcomes a Japanese princess onto its campus.

Princess Kako of Akishino, a granddaughter of Emperor Akihito, has enrolled at the university for a year as an exchange student, the Imperial Household Agency said this week.

The 22-year-old has not yet decided what she will study but is said to have shown interest in psychology and art.

She follows in the footsteps of her older sister, Princess Mako, who also studied in Britain at the University of Edinburgh, where she was an exchange student from 2012 to 2013.

The University of Leeds, established in 1904, is currently ranked in the top 100 world's best universities by higher education data specialists QS.

It was named The Times and Sunday Times university of the year 2017, having been runner-up the previous year.

The win was credited in part to strong results in the National Student Survey and quality in teaching.

Princess Kako, the second daughter of Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko, is currently a third-year student at Tokyo's International Christian University (ICU), having also studied at Gakushuin University.

Her older sister Princess Mako, 25, also attended ICU and travelled to the UK under the same programme to study art history in Edinburgh. She also studied at the University of Leicester for a year in 2014 and 2015.

Their grandfather, Emperor Akihito, 83, is expected to abdicate on New Year's Day in favour of his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, due to his age and health related issues.