By Editor-Tuesday, August 1st, 2023.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is still an “invaluable” part of his sustainable tourism organisation, the chief executive has insisted, despite his name being omitted from a relaunch press release.
It was reported on Monday that his name was left out of an announcement by Travalyst in May after he was presented as its public face when he founded the non-profit in 2019.
PR expert Sean O’Meara, managing director of Manchester-based agency Essential Content told the Daily Mail that the change of approach at Travalyst could be due to the marketing difficulties presented by the negative publicity often faced by Harry.
He told MailOnline today: ‘This move to lower Harry’s prominence as Travalyst enters a new phase of growth looks and feels strategic. It’s not an oversight. And it very well could be at Harry’s request or at the request of his advisors.
And another PR expert Andy Barr, co-founder of Gloucester-based agency 10 Yetis Digital, told MailOnline: ‘Harry has really stepped back from the glare of the media in recent months and this is to be expected given the negativity and public outcry that came from him washing his dirty linen in public.
In April 2020, Harry was listed on Companies House under the name of ‘Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex’ as an ‘individual person with significant control’ when the project was incorporated as a company. Documents confirmed the Duke held 75 per cent or more of the shares and voting rights.
At the time there were two company directors listed on Companies House – James Holt, who remains one of the Duke’s most senior aides, and Heather Wong, who worked as Harry’s assistant private secretary at Kensington Palace for three years before he quit the Royal Family. She left Travalyst in March 2021.
Sally Davey, who is now Travalyst’s chief executive, was appointed as a director one day later on Companies House.
Harry officially launched Travalyst in September 2019 at a time when he and Meghan were facing intense criticism after reportedly taking four private jet journeys in 11 days.
However, Sally Davey, its chief executive, told The Telegraph that his role as founder and patron remains unchanged.
She claimed: “Prince Harry is the founder of Travalyst and remains an invaluable part of this organisation.
“His role has not changed in any way, and he is regularly involved in strategic discussions and decisions alongside our partners and Board.”
The comments came after a Newsweek report highlighted the omission of the Duke’s name from a press release announcing a new phase and new board members at the organisation.
In a post from May 24, titled “Travalyst moves into its next phase of growth”, Ms Davey revealed that the company was formally marking the end of its “pilot phase” with the appointment of a new board.
It marked a change to previous press releases published on its website, in which the Duke had been mentioned, typically prominently at the beginning of the announcement.
However, The Telegraph understands that the “next phase of growth” post was designed to discuss what was new, namely the board, and not what had remained the same, such as the Duke’s commitment to the organisation.
Since founding Travalyst in 2019, Prince Harry has been its public face in encouraging the travel industry to become more environmentally conscious.
Travalyst is a collaboration between five companies – Booking.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, TripAdvisor and Visa – aimed at improving conservation efforts, protecting the environment and helping develop the economies of communities involved in the tourist industry.
Speaking at the launch of the company back in 2019 in Amsterdam, Harry said the project was partly inspired by a seven-year-old boy he met on a working trip to the Caribbean, who told him: “Because of your country, my country’s coral reef is dying.”
He has appealed for change in the industry through various conference appearances, and has even starred in a skit for Maori TV last year with comedians to encourage travellers to consider sustainable options when planning their next holiday.
During his working summit for Travalyst in Scotland in 2020, the Duke told delegates: “Call me Harry”. He flew commercially to attend the event following strong criticism of his use of private jets.
While Prince Harry launched Travalyst when he was still a working member of the Royal family, he has remained committed to the environmental cause since stepping down and relocating to the US in 2020.
The organisation’s founding goal is to “bring credible, consistent sustainability information to the mainstream, helping both travellers and travel companies make better, greener choices”.
Ms Davey said in the company’s May press release that the original coalition, comprising five “founding partners”, has now almost doubled in size to nine partners, including Skyscanner, TripAdvisor, Expedia Group and Google.
Meanwhile, the board appointments include India Gary-Martin, a new chairman who remains the risk and data chairman for C. Hoare & Co., Britain’s oldest private bank.
Other new directors are Clea Kaske-Kuck, a director at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development; Dr Sally Uren, chief executive of Forum for the Future; James Whiting, chief executive of Doughty Street Chambers; and Henrietta Worthington, lawyer with Vedder Price.
“This is an incredibly exciting moment for Travalyst and, I believe, for the industry as we stride ahead into our next phase of growth and expansion to ensure our work is freely available to all, used by all and catalyses the positive transformation of the sector,” Ms Davy said.
It was also announced on Monday that Prince Harry would be playing in this year’s Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup, which will be held at Singapore Polo Club on Aug 12.
Sources: Yahoo!News, Telegraph, Guardian, Wikipedia, Daily Mail, Mail Online.
