Hypocrite Harry ( cont)
After the storm over THAT trip to Google climate change summit – not to mention their constant posturing on green issues – he and Meghan fly to Ibiza ... by private jet
THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex have whisked their son Archie away on his first family holiday – by private jet.
Harry and Meghan flew to Ibiza on August 6, according to sources, where they stayed in a luxury private villa before returning to the UK on Monday.
However their jaunt came just a week after the sixth in line to the throne was criticised for taking a private plane to Sicily to give a speech on climate change at the celebrityfilled Google Camp summit.
He is also believed to have used a helicopter to transfer to the event and stayed overnight on a gas-guzzling private yacht.
The couple’s decision to use a private jet for their Ibiza trip means the journey emitted six times more CO2 per person than a scheduled flight from London to the Spanish island. The flights there and back would have given out 12.5 tons of CO2.
There are around 14 scheduled flights from London and South-East England to Ibiza each day.
Their choice of transport flies in the face of their frequent public pronouncements on green issues.
Last month British Vogue magazine – guest-edited by the duchess – published an interview by Harry with leading conservationist Dr Jane Goodall. In it the prince suggested that he and Meghan may only have two children because of their environmental concerns.
In contrast to the duke and duchess, climate change activist Greta Thunberg yesterday boarded a boat from England to New York because she refuses to travel by plane. The 16-year-old was one of the 15 ‘forces for change’ Meghan chose to put on the cover of Vogue.
By taking a private jet, the privacy-obsessed royal couple – whose son was born in May – were able to fly in and out of Ibiza incognito. The cost of taking a private plane ranges from £12,000 to £20,000 one way – so up to £40,000 return.
It was not clear last night whether Harry and Meghan paid for their flight personally as Buckingham Palace refused to discuss the trip. ‘We will not be commenting,’ a spokesman for the couple said.
A British Airways flight from London City Airport currently costs around £224 and takes two-and-ahalf hours, but seats can cost as little as £53, even in high season.
According to reports in several Spanish newspapers – which were independently verified last night – the Sussex family travelled to the Balearic Islands just after Meghan celebrated her 38th birthday at Frogmore Cottage, the couple’s new taxpayer-renovated Windsor home. It is understood they were accompanied on the plane by their ‘normal security team’ – which is made up of two or three Metropolitan Police officers – and were met by an advance team of taxpayer-funded protection officers on the ground.
One magazine claimed they also hired five local guards ‘who know the local area’.
It read: ‘Accompanied by their usual security team, the Dukes of Sussex [sic] did not need the support of the Spanish security forces... although... they hired five Spanish escorts, a reinforcement that has guaranteed their passage through the island has gone completely unnoticed, despite the high number of paparazzi that Ibiza gathers during the summer months.’
It has not yet been disclosed where the couple stayed, although their villa is thought to have been on the southern side of the island.
It would have been in the vicinity of the infamous ‘Maison de Bang Bang’, the luxury property owned by the Duchess of Cambridge’s uncle, Gary Goldsmith. Kate and Prince William stayed there for a holiday in 2006.
Meghan visited Ibiza with a group of friends in 2016, around the same time she enjoyed her first blind date with the Queen’s grandson. The party included her fashion designer friend, Misha Nonoo.
Then an enthusiastic user of social media, Meghan posted several snaps of the group relaxing by the pool on Instagram as well as a ‘selfie’ of her in a pool. She has since closed down her personal social media accounts.
It is expected that the royal couple will head with Archie to visit the Queen at Balmoral in the next few weeks, ahead of their official tour of Africa in September.
‘Gone completely unnoticed’