Weeks after facing intense scrutiny for flying a private jet to Europe with his wife, Meghan Markle, and son, Archie, Prince Harry has broken his silence on the controversy – something that got so severe it prompted Elton John and Meghan’s best friend Jessica Mulroney to speak out.
While in Amsterdam, the Duke of Sussex was asked about flying private, something critics pointed out goes against his and Meghan’s environmental stance. The royal responded by saying that he flew commercial to the country and that he does so for “99%” of the flights he takes.
“I came here by commercial,” he said, according to People. “I spend 99% of my life travelling the world by commercial. Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure my family are safe and it’s genuinely as simple as that.”
He continued, “We can all do better and while no one is perfect, we all have a responsibility for our own individual impact. The question is what we do to balance it out.”
Prince Harry was in Amsterdam to promote Travalyst, a new partnership he has launched with various leading players in the travel industry. Announcing the initiative on Instagram yesterday, Harry wrote that “Travalyst aims to make travel more sustainable, to help protect destinations and benefit communities long into the future, and to enable consumers to make more environmentally friendly choices whilst travelling.”
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The new dad, who travelled without his family, also took a moment to joke about the lack of sleep he’s been getting since baby Archie’s arrival. “Having spent last night here — I don’t know about you guys but it was definitely the best nights’ sleep I’ve had for the last 4 months!” he said.
