Eamonn Holmes has revealed a memorable encounter with Princess Anne at Edinburgh airport, describing her as "the hardest-working royal of all."Speaking on GB News, Eamonn recounted boarding a private plane on a "stormy night" when he spotted the Princess Royal on an adjacent aircraft.READ THE FULL STORY HERE
00:00is set to say goodbye to the Royal Train as he signs off plans to decommission it by 2027.
00:07While the Royal Family is set to use two new helicopters instead in a move to save money
00:12and deliver better value for money.
00:15That Royal Train has been in commission since 1842, various forms of it,
00:20with it being the late Queen's favourite mode of travel, it turns out.
00:23And Royal Butler Grant Harrold, who's travelled on the train, joins us now in the studio.
00:30As an experienced Grant, what's it like?
00:33It's wonderful. I mean, it's a great way to get around the country, but it is also quite dated.
00:39Because I remember when I went on board, the furnishings, even the telephone, everything's from the 70s, 80s.
00:46And it's exactly how the Queen and Prince Philip kind of put it together, how they liked it.
00:49So it hasn't really changed.
00:51And I'm imagining that if they kept it, it would need to be modernised.
00:54It would have to be updated, which is always going to cost a lot of money to do it.
00:58And then there's a question, is it still practical?
01:00Because when Queen Victoria had the train back then, it was the quickest way to go around the country,
01:05where today, I suppose, helicopters are the quickest way for the Royal Family to get around.
01:09Which makes me think, you know, we're talking about, you know, we're decommissioning it to save money.
01:15But I would have thought two helicopters are awfully expensive, maybe more expensive.
01:19So that's what I think they're going to probably at some point justify.
01:23Because with Royal Expenses, they've got to justify it.
01:25I think the interesting thing when it comes to the money, the sovereign grant, which placed a civil list, generates a lot.
01:31I mean, I think it's about half a million.
01:32And the way it works is they get 15% of that back, which is still a substantial amount.
01:37And from that, you've got the salaries, you've got the upkeep of the royal properties, and you've got the travel.
01:43And that's always where they're realising that it's maybe not enough in the modern world with the transport and everything.
01:49So I think maybe that's the reason for doing it.
01:51But as you said, I don't quite know what it's going to...
01:53I don't know if that is going to work out, having the helicopters instead.
01:56Yeah.
01:57Why do we need two helicopters?
01:58I'm imagining it's because I remember when there was one helicopter, if you can imagine, there's quite a few members of their family that might be doing engagements on the same day and need to get around.
02:07So I'm guessing it might be down to it's as simple as that.
02:09Maybe they're thinking if they're not going to have the train, then it's a good move to have two helicopters.
02:15But essentially, from my point of view, I liked the train.
02:19It was a fun way to kind of get around.
02:21And I think in the Queen's lifetime, she adored using the train.
02:25Like Britannia, she loved Britannia.
02:27I still think Britannia was a huge asset to the country and it generated a lot of money for the country.
02:33Yeah, but it's like a big advert for the country, a big floating advert, isn't it, everywhere it would go?
02:37Exactly.
02:38With the train, maybe it's not so much.
02:39People forget that we expect the royal family to suddenly pop up in places, you know, Aberystwyth and Aberdeen and, you know, wherever that was to be.
02:48And they just magically get there.
02:50And we don't really think of how they get there and why we expect them there.
02:54But they've got to get around the country.
02:55They have got to get around the country.
02:57And the other thing I witnessed at first hand is travelling on the Royal Train is how people come out wanting to catch a glimpse of the Royal Train.
03:05And I remember once being on the train with the late Queen and the then Prince of Wales, the King.
03:10And I remember coming into, it was into Scotland.
03:13And everybody was so excited to, one, see the train and then see the Queen and the then Prince of Wales got off.
03:19It was extraordinary, the excitement it generates, even people kind of getting emotional about it.
03:24So it's nostalgia.
03:25I think people love the royal family and they also love the way they kind of get around.
03:29But as you said, they've got to be able to get around.
03:31But I think in the modern world, helicopters are obviously the way to do it.
03:34And so many members, there's not as many members as there used to be, but people who are important, like the Princess Royal, she travels a lot.
03:44She works a lot.
03:45She's the hardest working royal of all.
03:47And she just doesn't magically get around.
03:49I remember one night, 10.30pm in Edinburgh, and it was a stormy, stormy night.
03:54And I was boarding a private plane.
03:57I'll not tell you why.
03:59And I was boarding this private plane.
04:00And she was on the one beside me.
04:02So it was just our two planes going out.
04:04And I thought to myself, me and Anne.
04:05Me and Anne.
04:06Heading down the runway.
04:07It's interesting, because I've travelled with Princess Anne as well, actually even coming up to do this programme on occasions.
04:12And sometimes she's even on the same train as myself.
04:14So she doesn't even use the raw train.
04:16She'll quite happily just use the normal train.
