Prince Harry and Meghan Markle slammed as 'hypocrites' after $37k Ibiza holiday

Photo / Getty

Photo / Getty

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been facing some backlash after it was revealed they took a private jet to Ibiza, Spain, for her 38th birthday.

Prince Harry and Meghan Meghan took their three-month-old son Archie on a private jet to the island of Ibiza for a six-day break earlier this month and it has been claimed that the return trip totalled £20,000 (NZ$37,838).

According to flight logs obtained by MailOnline, the pair are believed to have flown from Farnborough Airport in Hampshire on a Gulfstream 200 and returned on a nine-seater Cessna 500 XL, owned by NetJets, which has been dubbed "Uber for billionaires".

While the royal duo had a reputation for being "eco-warriors", they have since been labelled as hypocrites for not considering their carbon footprint with the environmentally-damaging flight.

Former royal protection officer, Ken Wharfe - who protected Princess Diana and her sons Prince William and Harry in the '90s - called the Duke and Duchess of Sussex out for having a double standard when it comes to the environment.

"Frankly it is hypocritical," Wharfe told Vanity Fair.

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Today is #earthday - an opportunity to learn about, celebrate and continue to safeguard our planet, our home. The above, Their Royal Highnesses in Rotorua, New Zealand. Of the 170 different species originally planted in the early 1900’s, only a handful of species, including these majestic Redwoods, remain today. Next, we invite you to scroll through a series of 8 photos taken by The Duke of Sussex©️DOS sharing his environmental POV including: Africa’s Unicorn, the rhino. These magnificent animals have survived ice ages and giant crocodiles, amongst other things! They have adapted to earth’s changing climate continually for over 30 million years. Yet here we are in 2019 where their biggest threat is us. A critical ecosystem, Botswana’s Okavango Delta sustains millions of people and an abundance of wildlife. Huge bush fires, predominantly started by humans, are altering the entire river system; the ash kills the fish as the flood comes in and the trees that don’t burn become next year’s kindling. Desert lions are critically endangered due partly to human wildlife conflict, habitat encroachment and climate change. 96% of mammals on our 🌍 are either livestock or humans, meaning only 4% remaining are wild animals. Orca and Humpback whale populations are recovering in Norway thanks to the protection of their fisheries. Proof that fishing sustainably can benefit us all. Roughly 3/4 of Guyana is forested, its forests are highly diverse with 1,263 known species of wildlife and 6,409 species of plants. Many countries continue to try and deforest there for the global demand for timber. We all now know the damage plastics are causing to our oceans. Micro plastics are also ending up in our food source, creating not just environmental problems for our planet but medical problems for ourselves too. When a fenced area passes its carrying capacity for elephants, they start to encroach into farmland causing havoc for communities. Here @AfricanParksNetwork relocated 500 Elephants to another park within Malawi to reduce the pressure on human wildlife conflict and create more dispersed tourism. Every one of us can make a difference, not just today but every day. #earthday

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"Harry can’t be preaching about the catastrophic effects of climate change whilst jetting around the world on a private plane."

"Why put another plane in the air when you could go commercial," he continued.

"During my time at the palace, most of the flights we took were commercial on British Airways, the national carrier.

"We always flew commercial; in fact, I don’t remember flying private. It’s no guarantee that security is any better. You’re better off with BA security because they’re used to working with VIPs."

The revelation comes after Harry previously urged the public to "take action" to lower their carbon footprint. 

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Earlier this summer HRH The Duke of Sussex met with world renowned ethologist Dr. Jane Goodall for an intimate conversation on environment, activism, and the world as they see it. This special sit-down was requested by The Duchess of Sussex, who has long admired Dr. Goodall and wanted to feature her in the September issue of @BritishVogue, which HRH has guest edited. HRH and Dr. Goodall spoke candidly about many topics including the effects of unconscious bias, and the need for people to acknowledge that your upbringing and environment can cause you to be prejudiced without realising it. The Duke described that “[when] you start to peel away all the layers, all the taught behaviour, the learned behaviour, the experienced behaviour, you start to peel all that away - and at the end of the day, we’re all humans.” • Through @RootsandShoots the global youth service program @JaneGoodallInst founded in 1991, she has created and encouraged a global youth community to recognise the power of their individual strength – that each day you live, you can make a difference. Photos: ©️SussexRoyal / Chris Allerton #ForcesForChange

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Speaking in March, he said: "Climate change is a humanitarian issue not a political one, and one where we've been far too slow in waking up to the issues and acting on the damaging impact our ways of living are having on the world.

"We now have the facts, the science, the technology and the ability to save not just our planet but ourselves. You don't just sit back and wait for solutions, you take action and create them."

It is not known who paid for the trip as it is possible they may have borrowed a jet from a friend whose plane is managed by a hire company.

The trio are believed to have flown to Ibiza to belatedly celebrate the former actress' 38th birthday, which occurred on August 4.

According to reports, the couple stayed in a secluded villa on their break and not only did they travel with their own security team, but they also hired five local escorts who knew the area.

Meghan previously holidayed on the island with a group of friends including Misha Nonoo - who is reported to have introduced her to Prince Harry - back in 2016.

As for Archie, while the brief break to Ibiza was his first time overseas, the tot will be getting on a plane again before the year is out as he'll be accompanying his parents on their official visit to South Africa this autumn.

Meghan and Harry, 34, admitted in June they are "really looking forward" to the trip.

A post on their official Instagram account read: "The Duke and Duchess are really looking forward to meeting so many of you on the ground and continuing to raise awareness of the high impact work local communities are doing across the commonwealth and beyond. This will be their first official tour as a family!"

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Last week, HRH The Duke of Sussex was proud to co-host a fundraising event for National Geographic’s @intotheokavango - a documentary film that highlights the vulnerability of the critical ecosystem that is The Okavango Delta and its source rivers in Angola. The Okavango Delta is the primary water source for a million people and is home to the world's largest remaining elephant population. His Royal Highness has a long-standing love of Africa and a connection with Botswana and Angola for over 20 years. The Duke is grateful to see National Geographic partnering with the Angolan government, @thehalotrust, @africanparksnetwork and many others in protecting this extraordinary habitat by supporting the sustainable management of the river basin's resources and focusing on a conservation economy. HRH - “Millions of people, food security and regional power generation are dependant on these free-flowing rivers. Threats such as uncontrolled fires, the bushmeat trade, unsustainable harvesting of the forest and rapid biodiversity loss are already destroying this incredible and delicate landscape. Known by the locals as ‘Source of life’, this ecosystem is wilderness at its best, playing an absolutely crucial role for the planet, people and wildlife. This is our one and only chance to save this magnificent last Eden.” (Photos: Cory Richards and John Hilton)

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- Bang! Showbiz, additional reporting by Coast and The Hits.

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