Just 'call him Harry': Prince Harry shows signs of change ahead of official royal step back

Prince Harry returned to the U.K. for a Wednesday appearance as the clock winds down on his time as a senior member of the royal family. Though his role doesn't officially change for another month, he's already starting to show signs of change. 

Introducing him during a sustainable tourism event in Scotland on Wednesday, conference host Ayesha Hazarika said he "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. 

USA TODAY has reached out to Buckingham Palace for more information about Harry's appearance. 

Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, are done with being working royals on March 31. After that date, a new arrangement about their future takes effect, to be in place for at least a year before it is reviewed.

Harry and Meghan's official Sussex Royal Instagram account announced Wednesday that he was in Scotland to learn about how the country's tourism division is taking measures to increase sustainability and support local communities. 

Wednesday is a busy day for the royal family: Prince William, 37, is scheduled for two appearances in Nottinghamshire, while Duchess Kate, 38, is set to visit London Stadium for an event about celebrating parents' role in their children's athletic success. 

Harry is also scheduled for an appearance Friday at Abbey Road Studios with Jon Bon Jovi and members of the Invictus Games Choir. Harry, who founded the games, joins the singers as they record a single to support the Invictus Games Foundation. 

Meghan will join him for a series of engagements in early March, including the Endeavour Awards, the Mountbatten Music Festival and the annual Commonwealth Ceremony at Westminster Abbey on March 9, which may be their final joint appearance as senior royals before their new roles begin the following month. 

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A key element in Harry and Meghan's step back: They can no longer use "Sussex Royal" as their label for their charities, commercial activities and social media; now something new will be used to signify the Sussex "brand," although exactly what that will be they have not yet revealed.

A lengthy post on their website last week revealed what they won and lost in their bid to break away from royal life, including at least one reason for their desire to do so: Their ongoing resentment of their media coverage.  

"The Royal Family respect and understand the wish of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to live a more independent life as a family, by removing the supposed ‘public interest’ justification for media intrusion into their lives," according to their website. "They remain a valued part of Her Majesty's family."

Since mid-January, Harry and Meghan have been living in Canada, in a borrowed estate on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, after their stunning declaration that they didn't want to be working royals anymore and planned to move to North America with baby Archie and become financially independent. 

That was followed by weeks of fraught negotiations with royal relations and palace officials about what their new lifestyle would look like, who would pay for it and how much of its royal character they could retain.

Under the agreement, they are still members of the royal family, Harry and Archie's place in the succession remain the same, and they are still the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, although they have agreed not to use their HRH status.

Contributing: Maria Puente and the Associated Press