Advertisement

Prince Harry arrives in UK for final engagements as senior royal

Prince Harry is back in the UK for the first time after disagreements about his future. Pic: Splash

Prince Harry is back in the UK for his first public engagement following what appear to be disagreements with other members of the Royal Family about his future.

The Duke of Sussex flew to Canada on 20 January to be with his wife Meghan and son Archie, after the Queen agreed they could step back from royal duties and become more financially independent.

But over the weekend on the Sussex Royal website, Harry and Meghan appeared to suggest they weren't entirely happy with the working plan, including the need to drop "royal" from their "Sussex Royal" brand.

On Wednesday morning, Prince Harry will open an event at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre for his eco-tourism initiative Travalyst, where he's expected to unveil a holiday scheme with a 'scoring system' to help tourists pick environmentally-friendly flights.

Harry launched the initiative last summer to bring the travel industry together to make tourism and travel more environmentally friendly, and make eco-friendly options more accessible.

It will be the first time Prince Harry has appeared in public in the UK since he made it clear that he isn't satisfied with the deal that has been worked out to accommodate his family's desire for a more independent life.

Last week, the palace released updates on the new working model for the Sussexes, saying: "The spring 2020 transition will take effect on 31 March.

"As there is no precedent for this new model of working and eventual financial independence, the Royal Family and the Sussexes have agreed to an initial 12-month review to ensure the arrangement works for all parties".

On Friday, a palace spokesperson further clarified that they would not be using the word "royal" in any future charitable ventures saying: "While The Duke and Duchess are focused on plans to establish a new non-profit organisation, given the specific UK government rules surrounding use of the word 'royal', it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organisation, when it is announced this spring, will not be named Sussex Royal Foundation.

"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use 'SussexRoyal' in any territory post spring 2020."

But this was swiftly followed by a post on the Sussex Royal website in which the couple made it clear they were unhappy with the arrangements.

They said: "While there is not any jurisdiction by the monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word 'royal' overseas, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use 'Sussex Royal' or any iteration of the word 'royal' in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs Spring 2020."

They also seemed to suggest that they were being unfairly treated compared to other members of the family, saying: "While there is precedent for other titled members of the Royal Family to seek employment outside of the institution, for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a 12-month review period has been put in place."

It comes after palace officials in January had said that there had been a genuine desire within the family to come up with a new way of working for them and that everyone was pleased that they'd reached some kind of agreement, but that there were still complex issues that had to be worked through.

But even with clarification last week on some of those issues there still appears to be disagreement behind the scenes between the Sussexes and others within the palace.

:: Listen to the Behind the Headlines podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

More than 100 delegates from the travel industry are expected at the event in Edinburgh, with Harry expected to give a short opening speech.

Attendees will be asked to give their feedback on some of the ideas the Travalyst partners have already been looking at to make the tourism industry more environmentally friendly.

Scotland was chosen as the location for the event because of Visit Scotland's work on sustainable tourism, with Edinburgh an example of a place struggling at times with "over tourism" but other areas such as the Highlands keen to attract more visitors.

This outing for Prince Harry is the first of seven engagements the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will carry out over the next couple of weeks, with Harry joining Jon Bon Jovi for a recording session with the Invictus Games choir on Friday.

Next Thursday will be the first time we see Meghan back in the UK as she'll attend the Endeavour Awards in London with her husband.