After spending Christmas with Queen Elizabeth and the Royal family, it was but natural that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would select another destination to enjoy the New Year. That is what Harry did. He decided to go to the French Riviera to ring the New Year and welcome 2018.

Telegraph UK reports that the two of them preferred to make the journey as ordinary persons instead of showing off their Royalty status and availed of a scheduled, British Airways economy flight to Nice. They also took precautions to ensure that their privacy was not compromised.

It seems they were the first to board the flight, and rushed to occupy seats at the end of the cabin.

The element of surprise

To travel incognito to the French Riviera, Harry had blocked some economy seats in the flight to Nice. These seats were located on either side of the aisle which meant the pair had some amount of privacy. They also wore hats to hide their identities – he had a baseball hat pulled over his face, she wore a black beanie hat.

Prince Harry is a young man of today who is an Apache helicopter pilot in the Army Air Corps. As a fighter pilot, he has seen action in Afghanistan. He has traveled to various places and loves to enjoy life to the fullest. He created the Invictus Games which is an international adaptive multi-sport event where wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans participate in different sports activities.

This young man is engaged to Meghan Markle who is a Hollywood actress and a celebrity in her own right. Their marriage date is finalized as to May 19, and she is getting used to being a part of the British Royal family.

Security arrangements

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had three bodyguards who had accompanied them. Once the flight landed in Nice, the French border police took over.

The responsibility to extend protection to the Royal visitors was assigned to the elite force that has to take care of the protection of foreign dignitaries.

This is because terrorism is a global threat and France has witnessed several terrorist attacks in the past. The latest one was in Nice in November, and it was nipped in the bud.

According to Euro News, advance action prevented this possible attack in the city of Nice on the French Riviera where 86 people were mowed down by a truck last year.

Incidentally, terrorist attacks in France have killed more than 240 people since 2015, and most of the attacks have been carried out by ISIL or by their affiliated militant groups.