Leaving on a Jet Plane...
"There are two words I hate and despise and don’t want to hear: red carpet and iconic." - Princess Caroline of Hanover
Unlike Princess Caroline, the two words I hate and despise and don’t want to hear are ‘plane’ and ‘private jet.’
You could also add ‘budget airline,’ ‘carbon offsetting’ and ‘PR coup’ to the list. Point is: if I ever hear those words in connection with royalty ever again, I will shriek until the sun burns out.
The tl;dr of it all is that Harry gave a bunch of speeches about how the planet is dying and we all have to do our part for the environment, then took off for an elite green retreat (allegedly, because BP never confirmed it) and vacations with Meghan and Archie (to Ibiza and Nice) on private jets, which produce a million times* more carbon emissions than flying commercial (or finding alternative methods of travel).
*Not the actual number but I’m too lazy to Google it. It is considerably higher than flying commercial.
This story would’ve died out after a few days if Elton John hadn’t decided to post on his social media accounts defending the Sussexes, saying that he’d arranged for the private jet to Nice and had donated to a carbon offsetting charity to balance out the emissions from the jet and blew up the story again.
Because once Elton spoke out, other celebrities also spoke out. Piers Morgan waded in (because of course he did), stans started fighting on Twitter about the ‘whataboutism’ of it all, and basically blew this up into the biggest royal story of the summer.
Then the Cambridges had the audacity (/s) to fly on a budget airline from Norwich to Aberdeen on Thursday (where they’re visiting the Queen at Balmoral Castle) and to get papped doing so:
Which blew all up to another level. Were they only flying commercial to rub it in? (No). How convenient that this is the only time they’ve ever been papped walking to an airplane (it’s not). It broke late on Friday that the budget airline flew a plane with their logo on it to carry the Cambridges, which meant an empty plane had to also fly the route (they apparently use a partner plane for this route normally but wanted the PR of having the Cambridges on a branded flight, all unbeknownst to the Cambridges), which added to the environmental aspect of the debate.
Let’s be clear: this was not an attempt by the Cambridges to one-up the Sussexes. If you honestly believe that they could decide on a whim to pop up to Balmoral, then you really have no clue how the Royal Family operates. These vacations are scheduled well in advance. The tickets were always booked on the budget flight.
Look, I get the argument that it’s not a good look to preach about the environment and then turn around and use private jets. I get that people are fed up with the constant pile-on of the Sussexes (and Meghan, in particular). I get that. You just can’t argue that the optics were great in this whole situation. Victoria Arbiter explains it better than I can here.
But ultimately, I just can’t bring myself to really care about who uses private jets and when and where and why. That’s very cavalier, I recognize that, but it’s where I’m at. The royals are still going to use private jets, whether it’s the Sussexes, the Cambridges, the Waleses, the Wessexes, or the Gloucesters. Celebrities, politicians, billionaires, whoever can afford them, they’re going to keep using them.
The only way you’re going to stop the overuse of private jets when commercial flights are available - and while the world is literally on fire - is to regulate and restrict the shit out of them.
Until then, can we all just chill? Please?
Finally, the only thing I truly considered commenting on on Twitter, aside from this
was when Jameela Jamil waded in and said that royals can’t fly commercial because it’s not safe for us plebs in case of kidnappings or assassinations. To which I say:
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands was literally a commercial airline pilot.
He flew commercial planes with regular people on them all the time, and he still (secretly, on occasion) does, and there were never any incidents.
If the royals do put a moratorium on private jets, I propose the following methods of air transport moving forward (in no particular order):
Anyways, is it September yet?
Elsewhere:
A great scoop from Sarah of The Royals And I: Queen Silvia and Princess Madeleine are working on a film project about the World Childhood Foundation.
Prince Joachim, Princess Marie and family have a new pupper:
Meet their Bichon Frise, Cerise!
Princess Estelle went back to school this week:
She’s going to be a teenager before we know it and I am just not ready for that.
Meghan popped in to Smart Works HQ this week to watch the photo shoot for her upcoming capsule collection:
I can’t wait to see what the collection looks like.
Princess Christina of the Netherlands was laid to rest this week. I thought it was touching that the mourners wore bright colours for a princess who lived with vision problems her entire life. (Hello!)
I wish this was a joke, but Trump cancelled his state visit to Denmark next week because… Denmark and Greenland told him that Greenland wasn’t for sale. Yes, this is the world we live in. (New York Times)
Nothing unites Royal Twitter like a good picture of Prince Carl Philip:
The thirst was/is/will always be real.
My Royal Bookshelf:
I’m currently reading Elfrida: The First Crowned Queen of England by Elizabeth Norton.
I’m learning so many things from this biography, like:
Record-keeping was shit when it came to women back then so there’s like, no concrete facts relating to Elfrida’s birth, parentage, children prior to her children with the king, favourite foods, pastimes, favourite brand of lipstick, and what she carried around in her purse. You know, the important things.
None of the names are pronounceable except for Edward and Edgar. Elfrida was changed over from Ælfthryth (for $50, I could not pronounce that). There’s also an Eadgifu, an Elfgifu, an Æthelred, a Judith (for whatever reason), and the list goes on. My favourite tidbit is that Queen Emma of Normandy had to change her name when she came over because Emma was the wacky name back then…
She might be the first Queen of England, but there might also be two earlier queens. It’s all very speculative because, again, record-keeping was shit.
Elfrida is the original recipe evil stepmother, but I won’t spoil it for you. (Here’s her Wikipedia page)
Buy here or borrow from your local library!
What I wrote at Royal Central this week:
Crown Princess Mary opened the Odense Flower Festival
The Duke of Cambridge to participate in men’s mental health documentary
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel to lead Swedish business delegation to Copenhagen
Prince Charles and Princess Beatrix to attend Battle of Arnhem 75th anniversary commemorative events
The Cambridges spotted at Balmoral Castle visiting The Queen this weekend
Good Morning America host apologises for remarks made about Prince George and ballet
Dork of the Week:
People need to get out and do stuff because for the second week in a row, we’re digging into the archives for this week’s dork.
Here’s Prince William, a giant of a man, cuddling with a teeny tiny daschund in Cumbria. He’s such a goof.
See you next week!