Didn't Know THAT About the Empress

From this article:

Japan's Empress Michiko, the first commoner to marry into the world's oldest monarchy, says she has turned to prayer to cope with stress and at times wished she could be invisible to enjoy life more.
. . .

"It was quite a great challenge for me to get by each and every day with sorrow and anxiety," she said, adding there were times when she "prayed and muttered some childish magic words" when she found it hard to cope.

Michiko, who was raised a Christian, said she had come to consider such emotions to be a "reward, solace and encouragement."

And from another article covering the same story:

[Emperor] Akihito was tutored and mentored by a number of Christians, leading to speculation that the imperial couple may harbour crypto-Christian sympathies. Courtiers dismiss this, insisting that Michiko was never baptised and is not a believer. In her remarks this week, she did not specify what kind of prayers she utters in times of stress.

Hmmm.