Why Elton John is defending Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after they were branded 'hypocrites'
Elton John has intervened after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were branded "hypocrites" by environmental campaigners after they flew on private jets for two trips two days apart.
British tabloid newspaper The Sun published a story claiming that the royal couple took "their fourth gas-guzzling flight in just 11 days" as they travelled to Nice, France, on a 12-seater Cessna private jet. "Eco-warrier royals Harry and Meghan left a huge carbon footprint when they took a private jet to the South of France two days after their flight to Ibiza," the story claimed.
Environmental campaigners joined the chorus of criticism levelled at the pair, saying that the private jet trip flight sends the wrong message — particularly given the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's environmental campaigning.
"Private jets are similar to commercial jets except they fly with less people, so therefore the footprint (per person) is much higher," Lucy Gilliam — from the campaign group Transport and Environment — told CNN. "Private jets consume 10 times more per person than commercial jets."
Prince Harry recently stated in a British Vogue interview with ethologist Dr. Jane Goodall that he plans to only have two children, stating "we should be able to leave something better behind for the next generation."
Elton John has since intervened and said he is "deeply distressed" about the "distorted and malicious account in the press" about Harry and Meghan's stay at his home in Nice.
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He wrote that Princess Diana was one of his closest friends and he feels protective over Harry and his family over the "unnecessary press intrusion that contributed to Diana's untimely death."
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He added that he and his husband David Furnish provided the couple with a private jet flight to "maintain a high level of much-needed protection" for the family.
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Elton stated that a contribution had been made to offset the couple's carbon footprint.
According to MyClimate, carbon offsetting is "a way to reduce the emissions that you can’t. It both helps to combat global climate change as well as caring for local communities."
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He concluded the Twitter thread by calling on the media to "cease these relentless and untrue assassinations" on Harry and Meghan's characters.
Topics Celebrities
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
