Prince Harry has finally addressed the controversy surrounding his recent travel itinerary – defending the fact he and wife Meghan Markle used private jets four times in 11 days, despite the couple claiming to be environmentally conscious.
The 33-year-old royal was in Amsterdam on Tuesday the launch of his new sustainable travel initiative, Travalyst, which will see him partner with major travel companies, such as Booking.com, TripAdvisor and Visa, to “explore and promote” ways to make travel more sustainable.
During his speech, the Duke of Sussex explained that travelling by private jet was sometimes necessary to ensure the safety of his family.
“I spend 99 per cent of my life travelling the world by commercial,” Harry explained during the conference.
“Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure my family are safe. It’s genuinely as simple as that.
“What it is about is balance. If I have to do that — it’s not a decision that I would want to take — but if I have to do that then I would ensure, as I have done previously and I will continue to make sure that I do, is to balance out that impact that I have. I have always offset my CO2,” he said.
Last month, Elton John admitted he had paid for Harry and Meghan, along with their four-month-old son, Archie, to fly by private jet for a stay at the British singer’s $27 million home in Nice. The Rocket Man singer justified the flight as “much-needed” for the couple’s “protection.”
The couple also reportedly chartered a private plane to Ibiza for the Duchess of Sussex’s birthday celebrations, while Prince Harry is also said to have flown by helicopter to speak at a Google Summer Camp in Italy about the effects of climate change.
The Sussexes environmental faux pas was further exacerbated by the fact that Prince William and Kate Middleton – along with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – chose to take a budget commercial flight to Balmoral in Scotland for their summer holiday.
WATCH the Cambridge family board a commercial budget flight:
In a further attempt to justify himself, Harry explained that no-one was perfect and everybody was responsible for their own individual impact on the environment.
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