Not So Green
31st March 2007
Sunday Express
www.express.co.uk
By Richard Palmer, Royal Correspondent
PRINCE Charles flew into a new storm yesterday after using
a private jet to take Camilla on a romantic break. He was
accused of taking the least green option to begin an Easter
break at their Highland hideaway.
Camilla, who is recovering from a hysterectomy, boarded
an HS 125 from the Royal Flight at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire
with Prince Charles to travel from Highgrove House in Gloucestershire
to Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate.
Environmental campaigners said the 500-mile flight to
Aberdeen would add 15,000kg of CO2 to the Prince’s
carbon footprint. A scheduled flight would have added 435kgs
per passenger to their carbon emissions, while a car trip
would have resulted in 180kgs and a scheduled train journey
just 60kgs.
Clarence House initially cited security issues for the
decision to take the royal executive jet but later stressed
health considerations for Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
A spokeswoman said: “We have always said that many
factors need to be taken into account on each journey.
In this case a key consideration was the Duchess’s
recuperation from her recent operation and she travelled
with a nurse.”
The royal couple are expected to celebrate their second
wedding anniversary on April 9 at Birkhall, their favourite
home, where they spent their honeymoon. Yesterday was the
first time the couple had been seen in public together
since Camilla underwent her operation earlier this month.
Wrapped in a warm scarf, Camilla smiled and looked relaxed
as she was picked up from the airport. The 59-year-old
was ordered to rest for at least six weeks after her treatment.
She was operated on at the exclusive King Edward VII hospital
in London earlier this month.
Her engagements have been postponed while she rests and
she is understood to be recovering well. But she was allowed
to fly after doctors deemed her fit enough to travel.
The Duchess, who was sporting a light green scarf with
a flower pattern, has had a difficult few weeks since the
operation to remove part of her womb. One in five women
has the operation by the age of 55.
The controversial journey yesterday followed Charles’ decision
last week to take a scheduled train to an official engagement
for the first time. He has vowed to cut his carbon footprint
in the fight against global warming and climbed on board
in an effort to highlight his green crusade.
However, his stunt backfired spectacularly after aides
were forced to admit that his chauffeur-driven Jaguar XJ,
accompanied by a police Range Rover for bodyguards, had
travelled the same 30-mile journey from London to Woking
to take him on to another engagement and then on to Highgrove.
The Prince was also accused of hypocrisy at the end of
January, when he flew to New York to accept an environmental
award, telling his audience that everyone needed to change
their habits to combat climate change.
The Queen Goes Green
THE QUEEN is turning her palaces green with help from environmental
experts. She is calling in consultants to transform her homes,
including Buckingham Palace, into energy- efficient buildings
at the urging of Prince Charles.
Charles – despite his criticised 500-mile Easter
flight to Balmoral – is planning to announce that
his London home Clarence House is carbon-neutral after
he offset carbon emissions by investing in environmental
projects overseas. Experts are likely
to suggest the Queen cuts her flights. Last year she and
the Duke of Edinburgh took 380 UK-only trips by air, plus
a further 45 flights overseas. But they
only used the Royal Train 14 times.
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