Crown Prince Naruhito was described as "personable, although slightly shy" by British officials in 1984, according to newly released government files by the National Archives in London.
The Crown Prince, who was then Prince Naruhito, was studying in 1984 at Oxford University and was invited to have lunch with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at her country residence, Chequers, with staff asked to prepare a personality note about him.
The comments came from a letter marked "restricted" and dated Feb. 17, 1984, from Peter Ricketts, a private secretary at the Foreign Office, to John Coles, Thatcher's private secretary.