Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Accused of Environmental ‘Hypocrisy’ After Taking 7 Flights in 14 Days

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been traveling quite a bit lately due to having engagements overseas, which isn’t uncommon for celebrities or royals. However, in recent years, the royal family has been slammed by the public, as well as by activist groups and anti-monarchy groups, for using excessive air travel while simultaneously being climate change activists.

Harry and Meghan are the most recent royals to feel that wrath, having traveled 19,000 miles over the course of two weeks.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took seven flights in 14 days

Harry and Meghan had busy schedules in September, mostly due to Harry’s Invictus Games taking place in Germany. According to Express, Harry’s flights began back on September 7, when he flew from California to London to attend the WellChild Awards. He snagged a flight to Germany from there; he and Meghan did not fly together. Meghan took two flights to get to Germany, with a stopover in London. The couple then left Germany after the Invictus Games and had a quick vacation in Portugal, where they reportedly visited Princess Eugenie, prior to returning to California. It’s unclear if there were two or three flights involved in the Portugal trip; Express reports seven flights, so it’s possible there was a layover between flying from Portugal back to California.

One royal expert slammed the couple for taking so many flights in such a short amount of time, considering the two are often talking about the effects humans have had on the environment. “If you preach about climate change, as Harry and Meghan do, you should, where possible, practice what you preach,” royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Express. “The discovery that along with flights to London and Germany for Invictus, the couple also visited Princess Eugenie, whom they are close to, in Portugal, has obviously laid them open to charges of hypocrisy.”

The royal family has come under fire for their flying habits in the past

While Harry and Meghan might not have needed to fly to Portugal, it makes sense that they took a shorter flight to stop over in Portugal as opposed to flying there all the way from California. They’re certainly entitled to a vacation every now and then. Plus, if the couple took commercial flights (which we don’t know), it’s possible they needed to take some layovers to make those happen; in that case, it does make sense that they flew so much in a two-week period, especially considering they haven’t traveled all that much in 2023. Is the criticism for this instance warranted? Probably not.

However, the royal family has come under fire in the past for their flight decisions. Harry and Meghan flew commercial back in 2019 to go to southern Africa after they were accused of hypocrisy for flying private jets on royal engagements. King Charles has been accused of taking unnecessary helicopter rides for trips that were driving distance, as has Kate Middleton. However, in Harry and Meghan’s most recent case, flying was essential for this charitable event, so there will inevitably be circumstances where they can’t avoid taking several flights.