Prince Harry Drops Royal Title While Registering New Eco-tourism Initiative

4/15/2020
Meredith Nardino
Just call him Harry. While setting up a new eco-friendly tourism organization following his official exit from the royal family, Prince Harry ditched his royal title and surname.
 
In documents obtained by Us Weekly, the 35-year-old Eton graduate applied to register the Travalyst firm as Prince Henry Charles Albert David, Duke of Sussex, dropping the family’s Mountbatten-Windsor name. The registration was filed on April 3, just days after he and Meghan Markle completed their transition out of royal life. Two months before filing the documents without his royal family name, the prince “made it clear” that he simply wanted to be called “Harry” while speaking at a Travalyst event in Edinburgh, Scotland.
 
According to the foundation’s website, the initiative was led by Harry with hopes of being “a catalyst for change” in helping to make the travel industry more sustainable. “We want to be the driving force that paves a new way to travel, helping everyone explore our world in a way that protects both people and places, and secures a positive future for destinations and local communities for generations to come,” the website reads.
 
In Harry’s own words, “Travel has an unparalleled power to open minds to new experiences and cultures, creating a profound appreciation for what our world has to offer.” Joining forces with executives from TripAdvisor, Visa, Booking.com and more, Harry hopes that “bringing companies, consumers and communities together is our chance to protect destinations and ecosystems for the future.”
 
After confirming they would be stepping down from their royal responsibilities in January, Harry and Meghan, 37, spent time in Canada with their 11-month-old son Archie before relocating to Los Angeles in March. With a number of new projects in the works, including their newly announced Archewell charity, the pair is ready to “make a splash” as they continue to grow more independent from their royal roots.
 
“Meghan and Harry are trying to rebrand themselves and want to make a big media splash, but are stymied by the coronavirus situation,” a source explained on Us Weekly‘s “Hot Hollywood” podcast earlier this month. “They did the move to L.A. to be closer to the deal makers and are setting up calls and virtual meetings with agents, studio heads.”
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