Journalist talks about turning 'Prince Harry into a commoner'

JOURNALIST Ayesha Hazarika says she found the Duke of Sussex—whom she recently introduced as 'just Harry' in Edinburgh—to be a “pretty chilled out” and “informal” person to interact with.

Prince Harry had been in the Scottish capital on Wednesday (26) for a summit on sustainable travel.

Hazarika, a former Labour adviser and broadcaster, announced at the event: “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.”

She said on Good Morning Britain today (27) that, as a host, she had been “a bit nervous about how to introduce him” at a time when there was a “huge fandangle over his title”.

“I said, 'what do you call him?', and they said ‘just call him Harry’.”

Hazarika’s announcement made international headlines, thanks to the ongoing controversy over Megxit and use of ‘Sussex Royal’ branding.

Hazarika said Prince Harry was “warm and relaxed”, and “didn’t look like a man wracked with anxiety” over relinquishing royal duties.

“He was very warm, relaxed and seemed very focused on the reason he was up there,” she elaborated.

“He was pretty chilled out. One thing I did notice was that he was very informal. He wandered around very freely with all the other delegates.”

The journalist said Prince Harry seemed to be “pretty defiant as well”.

“I didn't sense that he thinks 'this has all been a nightmare, I'm going to hide away’,” she added.

Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle will step down as “senior royals” on March 31, which is now called the “Megxit” day.

The couple’s recent statement on using the “Sussex Royal” title was termed “rude to the Queen”, as they opined that monarchy had “no jurisdiction” on the term “royal” outside the UK.

On being asked whether Harry had mentioned the issue, Hazarika replied: “No, not at all.”

“He asked us just to call him Harry,” she added.

“He wanted to be accessible, informal and for people to come and chat to him.

“It was probably a nod to what you're talking about, but with the reaction he got, the way he conducted himself, he clearly doesn't need a title to be a big deal.”