Skip to main content

Prince Harry just wants to be a normal guy. As he and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex prepare to make their official break from the royal family, he’s dropping a big hint that he’d like to get people used to him just being Harry. At his latest appearance, he asked that he be introduced without the royal fanfare — dropping ‘Prince’ in favor of simply ‘Harry.’

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex speaks as he attends a sustainable tourism summit at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre
Prince Harry | Andrew Milligan-WPA Pool/Getty Images

Prince Harry requested he be called ‘Harry’

Harry returned to the UK on Feb. 26 to begin the last of his final engagements before he and Meghan officially leave their royal duties behind.

He hosted a summit for the launch of his new eco-friendly travel partnership Travalyst, an engagement at which he requested for everyone “just to call him Harry.”

Host Ayesha Hazarika addressed the attendees before Harry took to the stage, noting: “He’s made it clear that we are all just to call him Harry. So ladies and gentlemen, please give a big, warm, Scottish welcome to Harry.”

“When I was introduced to him I was a bit worried about what I should say, what were the right things, and he was no, very relaxed, and just [said] ‘Harry, just call me Harry‘. And that’s very much the spirit of how he wanted it [at] the event today,” Hazarika told Daily Mail.

Is he moving away from a royal title?

Hazarika shared her thoughts on why he might want to drop the royal title, confirming, “I did say His Royal Highness Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, but he would like you to call him Harry. He was not making a big deal about it.”

Hazarika continued: “That just to say ‘look, I want to move away from that pomp and circumstance and I’m here as someone who is very passionate about this topic.”

“He doesn’t need a title. He is such a global figure now, he is recognizable all around the world. People know what he and his wife stand for, the causes they are passionate about. I think this is probably a nod to the future,” she shared.

Harry addressed eco-travel concerns

Harry addressed those in attendance at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, noting that the travel industry in Scotland could set an example for its eco-friendly approach.

“We want to hear truths and perspectives from across the industry. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, a lot of great work has already been done. But our research again shows that many of these endeavors have failed to reach the conscientiousness of consumers,” Harry stated.

Harry added: ‘We believe travel is a good thing. It is the heart of human experience, of cultural connections, and of new friendships. It is a global powerhouse that employs hundreds of millions of people, keeping culture alive, protecting some of the world’s most precious spaces, and that introduces us to people, places and wildlife that we’ve only ever seen on a screen.”

“It is predicted that tourism will reach over 1.8 billion travelers by 2030. If we do not act, and in large part get ahead of this inevitable surge, this massive increase will mean we see more of the world’s beautiful destinations closed or destroyed, more communities becoming overwhelmed, more beaches shut because of pollution, and animals and wildlife driven from their natural habitat, which has a huge impact on communities and reduces tourism opportunities. But we are here to find ways to make sure that does not happen,” he explained.

“We have to work together,” Harry shared. “to scale up the good practices already being used around the world. Scotland is a great example of what we mean. There is a holistic ambition to Scotland’s intent that can be adopted across the UK and even around the world.”

He pointed to Scotland as being “at the forefront of a more sustainable approach” for tourism and asked for “insight into these issues.”

Best in Entertainment