The Duke and Duchess of Sussex seven times the emissions per person compared to a commercial flight when they flew to France this week. Pictured is Meghan holding Archie
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been pictured arriving in the south of France – their third private jet jaunt of the summer.
It is estimated Prince Harry and Meghan generated an estimated seven times the emissions per person compared to a commercial flight when they flew to Nice on Wednesday.
Photographs of the royal couple and three-month-old Archie show the family arriving at the airport, two days after flying to the UK from Ibiza.
The trip on the 12-seater Cessna aircraft was eco-warriors Prince Harry, 34, and Meghan’s third private jet flight in just eight days.
The Cessna Citation Sovereign features a refreshment bar and is described as the ‘pinnacle of luxury’ by private jet firm and owner NetJets.
Dressed in a white blouse and cream sun hat, Meghan, 38, was spotted cradling baby Archie as she left the plane which is registered to NetJets.
Harry, wearing a green polo shirt, blue cap and sunglasses, was also seen leaving the plane, which experts said would have cost more than £20,000 to hire.
Little Archie, wearing a cream and navy striped jumper, was cradled by his mother as they disembarked from the aircraft and were met by aides.
There are more than 20 scheduled commercial flights from London airports to Nice each Wednesday from as little as £100 for a return.
Prince Harry, who has spoken about environmental concerns in the past, was seen disembarking from the private plane in Nice, France, on Wednesday wearing a cap
Meghan getting off the aircraft while cradling Archie in Nice. The trip on the 12-seater Cessna aircraft was the Sussexes’ third private jet flight in eight days
The gas-guzzling flight came just two days after the couple, who have often spoken about their support for environmental causes, returned by private jet to the UK from Ibiza after a six-night break to mark Meghan’s 38th birthday.
They had originally flown to Ibiza on August 6 by private jet – making it three environmentally damaging flights in just over a week.
Harry and Meghan set off for their second Mediterranean holiday of the summer on Wednesday morning, travelling 20 miles from their home at Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Castle estate to Farnborough Airport in Hampshire.
Onlookers said Harry appeared to be trying to avoid attention, staring at the ground as he and his family were whisked from the tarmac in a blacked-out Mercedes people carrier to a secluded villa in France.
The Duchess of Sussex, pictured left and right, wore a cream sun hat and white shirt for the flight while her son wore a striped jumper
Harry, thought to be pictured through the window of the private jet, and Meghan’s trip to France is estimated to have had a carbon footprint of just over three tons. The average person in the UK’s carbon footprint is 13 tons a year
Prince Harry, pictured left and right, wore a cap and green polo shirt when arriving in the South of France and appeared to keep his head down and face hidden
It is unclear whether they are still in the South of France or have returned to the UK.
Labour MP Teresa Pearce said she was ‘surprised’ by the couple’s jet-setting. ‘Given the position they have taken publicly about being responsible on climate change, this does seem an anomaly which they should look at,’ she said.
‘I find this quite surprising because it doesn’t fit with their public image and the way they’re so concerned about the planet and the environment.’
Ken Wharfe, a former royal protection officer who guarded Princess Diana, said: ‘Frankly it’s hypocritical. Harry can’t be preaching about the catastrophic effects of climate change while jetting around the world on a private plane.’
Ken Wharfe, a former royal protection officer, said it was ‘hypocritical’ of Harry, pictured with his family in May, to be ‘preaching about the catastrophic effects of climate change while jetting around the world on a private plane’
In their latest trip, the Royals drove from their home in Windsor to Farnborough Airport in Hampshire before catching the flight to Nice
Harry and Meghan took a 12-seat Cessna Citation Sovereign (similar pictured in this file photo) to the French Riviera and arrived on August 14, in a trip that would have created seven times more emissions per person than a commercial flight and cost more than £20,000 to hire
The royal family have not commented on the latest trip.
On August 6, the first day of the Sussexes’ holiday to Ibiza, the only private plane travelling to Ibiza from the VIP Farnborough Airport was a Gulfstream 200, which can hold up to 19 people.
It left at 7.49am BST and touched down on the Balearic island at 10.49am local time.
Six days later, on Monday August 12, a nine-seater Cessna 500 XL, owned by NetJets, left Ibiza at 10.14am local time and landed at Farnborough at 11.20am BST and is understood to have been carrying the royals.
At least one leg of the journey is understood to have been booked through NetJets, which has earned the nicknames ‘Hertz For Heirs’ or ‘Uber for billionaires’ because it serves the wealthy.
The 860-mile private jet journey from Farnborough to Ibiza would have emitted six times more carbon than a commercial flight
The plane used by the couple to get to Ibiza was believed to be a Cessna Citation XL, similar to the one pictured in this file photo
It is not known who paid for the flights, which would have cost around £20,000 return.
But NetJets are linked to Harry’s close friend Nacho Figueras, an Argentine sportsman known as the ‘David Beckham of polo’.
Mr Figeuras is understood to own one of the jets and often uses his social media profiles to promote them.
It is also possible they may have borrowed a private jet from a friend whose plane is managed by a hire company.
NetJets has 750 planes for hire worldwide and boasts of offering an ‘unmatched experience’ to rich clients.
Once on the Spanish island, the couple stayed in the Vista Alegre gated complex of sea-facing mansions and were guarded by British and Spanish state security personnel.
Meghan has fond memories of Ibiza having visited with friends before meeting the Prince
In September’s edition of Vogue, guest edited by Meghan, Harry said the couple would only have two children for the sake of the environment
There was also anger at the lack of transparency surrounding the trip, with royal representatives refusing to disclose how much it cost taxpayers.
A source on the island told MailOnline the Royals landed in Ibiza on August 6 with several taxpayer-funded Met Police bodyguards.
They added that five close protection officers from the Spanish security forces joined the group escorting them to their private villa.
The most expensive villas overlooking the azure waters of Ibiza’s Porroig Bay are listed at £20,000 per week, but the price of others on enquiry rises to £120,000 per week, reports the Sun.
Buckingham Palace claimed that it was a private matter and declined to comment.
Harry and Meghan’s trip to France is estimated to have had a carbon footprint of just over three tons and their earlier trip to Ibiza is believed to have had a footprint of more than four tons. The carbon footprint of an average person in the UK is 13 tons a year.
Meanwhile, it was reported last night that Harry and Meghan asked the Queen if they could live in Windsor Castle when they were planning their life together.
She was said to have politely, but firmly, suggested that they move to Frogmore Cottage instead.
An aerial view of Ibiza. It is understood Harry and Meghan were there from August 6 to 12
The couple’s decision to use a private jet for their Ibiza trip means the journey would have emitted six times more carbon dioxide 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 carbon dioxide.
There are around 14 scheduled flights from London and the South-East to Ibiza each day.
Their choice of transport flew in the face of their frequent public pronouncements on green issues.
In an interview published in the September issue of Vogue with conservationist Jane Goodall, Harry revealed that he and Meghan wanted a ‘maximum’ of two children because of environmental concerns.
The issue was guest-edited by the Duchess and she chose climate change activist Greta Thunberg as one of her ‘forces for change’ to be put on the front cover.
Prince Harry boarded a Wizz Air flight (stock picture) from Luton to Transylvania in 2012 and in 2010 Prince William, 37, used a Ryanair plane to get to Scotland
In 2015, Prince William, 37, used a Ryanair plane (stock pictured) to get to Scotland. In 2011 he was also joined by wife Kate, also 37, on a Flybe flight to Zara and Mike Tindall’s wedding
Greta, 16, is currently travelling to New York from England by boat as she refuses to travel by plane.
The couple’s extraordinary string of private-jet flights also comes after Harry attended a ‘green summit’ organised by tech giant Google in Sicily at the end of July where he delivered an impassioned speech on saving the environment.
He was reportedly barefoot as he gave his lecture to VIPs and power-brokers.
However, it was claimed Google paid for his flights and a helicopter to a luxury resort where he is understood to have stayed on a gas-guzzling super-yacht.
Other Royals have used cheap airlines for their flights alongside the public.
Prince Harry boarded a Wizz Air flight from Luton to Transylvania in 2012 and in 2015 Prince William, 37, used a Ryanair plane to get to Scotland.
In 2011 he was also joined by wife Kate, also 37, on a Flybe flight to Zara and Mike Tindall’s wedding.
