Meghan Markle has been seen boarding a private jet in Indianapolis after appearing at a female empowerment event in the city.
Fox News Digital obtained video footage of the Duchess of Sussex arriving outside a hanger to board the aircraft after having been a featured guest at a Women’s Fund of Central Indiana event on Tuesday.
Both the duchess and her husband Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, are vocal environmental activists and have proclaimed through Archewell, the organisation they founded, that they will achieve net-zero emissions by the end of the decade.
The duke’s brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and his wife Kate, are currently in Boston for the Earthshot Prize awards which encourage innovation in sustainability and tackling climate change.
The Prince and Princess of Wales made headlines of their own when they flew to the US from London and were pictured flying on a commercial British Airways flight.
Pictures of the royal couple boarding the commercial cabin quickly took off online, while passengers seated next to them in first class described them as chatting briefly with those seated nearby and being “utterly delightful”, according to WBZ reporter Tiffany Chan.
In 2021, ahead of the United Nations climate summit, a statement from Archewell said: “As global leaders convene for COP26 to commit to solutions for our climate crisis, all of us at Archewell, led by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, share our pledge towards a more sustainable future by becoming net zero by 2030.”
It continued: “Our co-founders, Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have a long-standing commitment to the planet, both together and prior to their union, with global projects and partnerships dating back over a decade.”
In encouraging individuals to reduce emissions and their “carbon footprint”, the organisation says people should consider what they eat and how often they eat certain foods; their mode of transportation and frequency of use, including daily commutes; the use of electricity and heating; and the reliance on big industries.
“Achieving net zero carbon emissions means making a series of choices over time to make that footprint as small as possible, while compensating for any remaining emissions through high-quality carbon removal projects,” the statement says.
In 2019, Prince Harry founded Travalyst, a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to catalyse sustainability within the tourism industry. He also founded Ethic, which focuses on environmentally friendly investments.
The Independent has contacted Archewell for comment.
Meghan had traveled to Indianapolis for a Women’s Fund of Central Indiana event, where she participated in a moderated discussion with renowned writer and community leader Rabbi Sandy Sasso.
The organisation promoted her participation before the event by writing on its website: “Women’s Fund is proud to welcome Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, to Indianapolis. The Duchess is a mother, feminist and champion of human rights. She is a lifelong advocate for women and girls, a constant thread she weaves through humanitarian and business ventures.”
This week’s criticism over Meghan’s private flight is not the first time that the Duke and Duchess have come under public scrutiny for what some view as hypocritical actions when it comes to their climate commitments versus their personal travel habits.
In 2019, the royal couple received heavy criticised for a seemingly brazen tendency to opt for carbon-heavy modes of travel, sparking calls of eco-hypocritcism. In one instance over that summer, the Duchess of Sussex was reported to have hopped on a friend’s private jet to fly from the UK to New York for a baby shower, The New York Post reported at that time.
The issue came up yet again that summer when it was reported that the royal couple had used Sir Elton John’s private jet for a trip to his home in the south of France, marking the fourth instance over the course of 11 days that the couple had indulged in the luxury mode of transportation.
For his part, the “Crocodile Rock” singer defended his guests trek, writing in a post on social media at the time that he had not only paid to offset the carbon emissions but that the idea for them to use his jet had come from him so as to “maintain a high level of much-needed protection”.
“I am deeply distressed by today’s distorted and malicious account in the press surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s private stay at my home in Nice last week,” wrote Sir John in an Instagram post in 2019. “Prince Harry’s mother, Diana Princess of Wales was one of my dearest friends. I feel a profound sense of obligation to protect Harry and his family from the unnecessary press intrusion that contributed to Diana’s untimely death.”
That following September, Prince Harry conceded during a speech while he was launching Travalyst that his travel habits were “not perfect” but said he flew by commercial airline “99 percent” of the time.
“Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure that my family are safe,” Prince Harry said while rebuffing the critiques levelled at him and his family for the “occasional” use of private jets, The Daily Beast reported at the time.
