NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle fly economy on French Riviera break

Daily Mail
1 Jan, 2018 10:43 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have enjoyed a French Riviera holiday, probably their last before they start planning their wedding in earnest. Photo / File

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have enjoyed a French Riviera holiday, probably their last before they start planning their wedding in earnest. Photo / File

With its old-school glamour, year-round sunshine and beautiful beaches, it's no wonder Prince Harry has whisked his fiancee off to the French Riviera.

But the royal couple's romantic New Year break began in a rather less chic fashion – on an economy flight with seats next to the toilets.

Sources say the prince and Meghan Markle flew out of Heathrow on New Year's Eve on a scheduled British Airways flight to Nice.

In an attempt to remain incognito, the pair boarded their 9.55am flight before any other passengers and headed straight to the back of the plane, next to the rear toilets.

They also took up three rows of economy seats, either side of the aisle, even though there were only themselves and three "edgy and nervous" bodyguards in their party.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Harry, 33, apparently slumped down next to the window dressed in jeans, a jacket and with a baseball cap pulled over his face.

It is understood that the couple flew out to celebrate the New Year with friends and plan to stay several days at a private residence in the Riviera region.

Bride-to-be Markle, 36, was sitting next to him in a black beanie hat and minimal make-up.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

According to one fellow traveller, the aircraft took off several minutes early, much to the surprise of other passengers, and shaved 20 minutes off its two-hour flight time.

And if anyone hadn't spotted the group by that point, they couldn't mistake the two heavily armed officers from the French border police waiting for the party as they disembarked, ready to whisk them out through the VIP area.

Other sources told the Daily Mail that several members of France's elite Service de la Protection – the police unit responsible for the protection of foreign dignitaries – have flown down from Paris to guard the couple during their stay.

Asked if Kensington Palace had requested them, they said: "No, it would have been offered and would have been non-negotiable.
"After what happened to his mother in this country and the issue of terrorism, it would be insisted on even for a private trip such as this."
All officers in the force are armed with a Beretta M9, and at least one would also have a machine gun.

Discover more

Royals

Meghan Markle 'could have been next Bond girl'

03 Jan 11:15 PM
Royals

Zara and Mike Tindall expecting their second child

05 Jan 09:42 PM
Royals

Why Meghan will have to wait to wear Crown jewels

05 Jan 11:36 PM
Royals

Meghan Markle's soon to be sister-in-law arrested

06 Jan 02:14 AM

By flying frugally, Harry is following in his brother's footsteps. In 2014, Prince William delighted passengers when he shunned first class on a flight from New York to Washington DC, where he had met President Obama at the White House.

Earlier the same year, he flew from Memphis to Dallas in "coach class" as he returned from his friend Guy Pelly's wedding.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle holidayed on the French Riviera, famous for its beaches. Photo / File
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle holidayed on the French Riviera, famous for its beaches. Photo / File

The trip to the South of France may well be a welcome break for Harry and Markle before wedding preparations begin in earnest.

One decision that has already been made is the catering firm they will use for their May nuptials.

Royal household staff will cater the main event – which will be paid for by the Queen and Prince Charles privately – but the couple have also employed society favourite Table Talk, most probably for the evening reception.

The firm was used by Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge for their 2011 wedding and by Kate's sister, Pippa Middleton, when she married last year. Kensington Palace declined to comment last night.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Russia launches 400 drones, missile in latest Ukraine assault

World

US agents seize $16m in crypto tied to Sinaloa cartel in major busts

World

LA protests: Pentagon pulls back half of guard troops


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Russia launches 400 drones, missile in latest Ukraine assault
World

Russia launches 400 drones, missile in latest Ukraine assault

The attacks left one woman dead and more than two dozen people wounded.

16 Jul 09:28 AM
US agents seize $16m in crypto tied to Sinaloa cartel in major busts
World

US agents seize $16m in crypto tied to Sinaloa cartel in major busts

16 Jul 08:33 AM
LA protests: Pentagon pulls back half of guard troops
World

LA protests: Pentagon pulls back half of guard troops

16 Jul 08:24 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP