Twitter users exploded with outrage when they learned that Prince Harry bought all the seats in the first class of the train to get to the environmental summit in Edinburgh. The Duke of Sussex went to the event, accompanied by the ubiquitous bodyguards. Travel time from King's Cross to the Scottish capital on the London Northeast Railroad is approximately five hours, and Harry decided to spend them comfortably and away from prying eyes.
The prince's decision looks especially out of place compared to the recent trip by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Loughborough last week. The spouses were not embarrassed by the presence of other passengers in the same carriage with them. The juxtaposition of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, who prefer public transportation to events, also puts Harry in a bad light. So far, Buckingham Palace has not commented on his actions, but heated discussions have already begun on the Web. One user tweeted: “Fun working to make travel more sustainable for everyone. Well, it turned out very convincingly, because if the prince takes all the seats [on the train], the rest will just have to walk home."
However, the opinions of Internet users are divided: some say that the youngest son of Prince Charles has lost touch with reality, others that if he wants, he can redeem any number of tickets for his own money. Be that as it may, the fact remains: Prince Harry came to the summit in Edinburgh to support Travalyst, a project he oversees about responsible travel. The company's website reads: "We believe in the power and importance of travel, and that we have a shared responsibility to our planet."
The fact that the duke would come under fire for not adhering to the most responsible travel strategy could be expected. A fully ransomed first-class ride to an environmental summit is not the first time the public has accused the prince of being redundant. While William and Catherine fly low-cost flights, Harry and Meghan are actively using private airliners. Last summer, Sir Elton John lent his plane to a couple to Nice. Faced with a wave of discontent from eco-activists, the singer said that small private jets cause less damage to the environment than large airliners (read also: "Elton John stood up for Harry and Megan"). Some activists are pushing for such services to be declared on an equal basis with other gifts received by officials.
Also in his comment, Elton John mentioned that he paid to offset the carbon footprint left as a result of the Sussex travel to his French possessions and estimated at 37.6 tons of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. Nature-ethical behavior and all kinds of environmental initiatives have become a new trend among pop stars, the fashion industry and even officials. Some people prefer to offset their carbon footprint by donating money for initiatives to cleanse and green the planet, others refuse music tours and other travel, such as the Coldplay group, and still others change the environmentally damaging air travel to travel by sea (see also: “Grandson Grace Kelly will go on a trip with Greta Thunberg "). British subjects would like to see members of the royal family responsible and consistent in their decisions, and accusations of double standards will definitely not benefit any of them. According to experts, the volume of the carbon footprint left as a result of travel of representatives of the royal family has almost doubled over the past year.
Photo source: Getty Images
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