Prince Harry 'books entire first class carriage after speech at eco-conference'

28 February 2020, 07:34

Prince Harry pictured at the conference in Edinburgh
Prince Harry pictured at the conference in Edinburgh. Picture: PA

By Asher McShane

Prince Harry is reported to have booked an entire first class train carriage for him and his security detail as he returned from an eco-conference in Edinburgh.

The Duke of Sussex and his bodyguards had the entire carriage to themselves on the way to London, according to the Mail Online.

He was returned from the eco-tourism event, where he asked attendees to drop his royal title, simply calling him ‘Harry’ instead.

Earlier this month the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took a train to and from a visit to the new Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre near Loughborough, Leicestershire alongside other commuters. 

The Queen is afforded a First Class carriage to herself when travelling by train to Sandringham.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the travel arrangement but sources told the Mail that Harry frequently travels by train with other commuters.

Earlier this week Harry was introduced to a crowd at the sustainable tourism event without any of his official titles, insisting he wants to simply be called 'Harry' from now on.

Harry took to the stage at the summit for his sustainable tourism project Travalyst where he was welcomed to deliver a speech.

In Harry's introduction, the female compere told the crowd: "He's made it clear that we are all just to call him Harry, so ladies and gentlemen, let's give a big warm Scottish welcome... to Harry."

Harry and Meghan's lives as working royals will end on March 31, when they stop representing the Queen and become financially independent - after it emerged they would be stripped of their royal labels and their Sussex Royal branding.

Harry flew back to the UK on a commercial flight before boarding a train to Edinburgh to reach the event. He travelled solo without his wife Meghan or baby Archie.

Harry told the crowd: "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 endeavours have failed to reach the conscientiousness of consumers."

Harry added: "We have to work together... 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.

"Scotland is one of the fastest growing tourism destinations worldwide and it's at the forefront of a more sustainable approach, which is why your insight into these issues is so incredibly valuable."

The duke founded the Travalyst coalition along with brands including Booking.com, Skyscanner, Tripadvisor, Trip.com and Visa.