Piers Morgan slams Prince Harry as “hypocrite” over private jet use
Piers Morgan has slammed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as “hypocrites” after the prince defended their use of private jets.
The prince and his wife Meghan have faced criticism after media reports emerged that they flew privately four times in 11 days this summer.
Prince Harry said “we can all do better” with sustainable travel at a launch of eco-tourism project in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
“I came here by commercial. I spend 99 per cent of my life travelling the world by commercial,” he said.
“Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure that my family are safe – it’s generally as simple as that.”
Morgan accused the prince of making false statements to defend his travel practices, saying that he has flown on private jets for the majority of his known trips since his wedding to Meghan in May 2018.
“When he was pressed to explain why he uses fuel-guzzling private jets all the time if he cares so much about the environment, Harry point blank lied,” Morgan wrote on his Daily Mail column.
Morgan also said the prince’s safety concerns are “completely bogus” as he noted how Prince William and the late Princess Diana travelled with commercial airlines.
“Did you really accept a free ride on Elton John’s private plane to the South of France last month because you were worried about the safety of your family, or because you just fancied a more luxurious mode of travel?” Morgan wrote.
The TV host argued that the Duke is “fast becoming Hypocrite Harry”.
He wrote, “They want to be the first ‘woke’ royals – using their status as a platform to regularly dictate to us how we should live our lives, whether it’s demanding we stop using social media so much or instructing us to curb our flying – as they themselves bombard us with endless social media posts, and use private jets like taxis.”
Speaking on Good Morning Britain Wednesday morning, Morgan said of the Sussexes: “Nobody wants to hate these two, but they are making themselves look like rank hypocrites and you can’t as a Royal do that.”
A sovereign grant report published in June showed that the royal’s household carbon emissions almost doubled last year due to business travel.