Ellen DeGeneres defends Harry and Meghan over private jets

Ellen DeGeneres DEFENDS Prince Harry and Meghan Markle over their gas-guzzling private jets: US talk show host says the royal couple are the ‘most down-to-earth compassionate people her and wife Portia de Rossi have ever met’

• US presenter Ellen and wife Portia met Harry and Meghan on a trip to England 
• She posted on Instagram: ‘Imagine being attacked for everything you do’ 
• Talk show host said royal couple are ‘trying to make the world better’ 
• Comes after they took four private jets in 11 days travelling around the world 

Ellen DeGeneres has defended Harry and Meghan’s use of gas-guzzling private jets, saying they are ‘only trying to make the world better’. 

The US talk show host condemned those branding the royal couple hypocrites after using private jets four times in 11 days. 

She said her and her wife Portia de Rossi met the couple on a trip to England to ‘talk about their work on wildlife conservation’ and said they were very impressed.

Ellen posted on Instagram: ‘Portia and I met Prince Harry and Meghan in England to talk about their work on wildlife conservation. 

‘They were the most down-to-earth, compassionate people. Imagine being attacked for everything you do, when all you’re trying to do is make the world better.’

Ellen DeGeneres (right) has defended Harry and Meghan over their private jet use, saying she and wife Portia de Rossi (left) have met them and they were ‘the most down-to-earth- people

The US talk show host condemned those branding the royal couple (pictured together) hypocrites after using private jets four times in 11 days

Ellen posted a picture of the couple with the following message on Instagram today 

She did not say when she and her wife Portia de Rossi had met the royal couple.

Harry and Meghan, who have been vocal on environmental issues, have been slammed for their seemingly high carbon emissions.

Photographs of the royal couple and three-month-old Archie showed the family stepping on board the Cessna 680 Citation Sovereign jet on Saturday at about 3pm local time, having arrived in France three days earlier.

Royal experts said the British public do not want to be ‘lectured on climate change by those who don’t do follow their own advice’, while MPs said the trips do not ‘fit with their public image’ they project as eco-warriors.

It came after Sir Elton John came to the couple’s defence for using a private jet to holiday in the south of France and stay in his private villa.   

Sir Elton said he had provided Harry and Meghan and their baby son Archie with a private flight to ‘maintain a high level of much-needed protection’.

He wrote on social media that he had made sure the flight was carbon neutral by making the ‘appropriate contribution’ to a carbon footprint fund.

‘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,’ he said.   

‘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. 

The Duke of Sussex is pictured stepping on board the aircraft at Nice Airport, in another trip by the royals by private jet

Last Wednesday, Meghan was pictured holding baby Archie as she stepped off the private jet upon their arrival in Nice

‘After a hectic year continuing their hard work and dedication to charity, David and I wanted the young family to have a private holiday inside the safety and tranquility of our home.

‘To maintain a high level of much-needed protection, we provided them with a private jet flight.

‘To support Prince Harry’s commitment to the environment, we ensured their flight was carbon neutral, by making the appropriate contribution to Carbon Footprint.

‘I highly respect and applaud both Harry and Meghan’s commitment to charity and I’m calling on the press to cease these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character that are spuriously crafted on an almost daily basis. Elton.’

The musician famously performed at the funeral of Harry’s late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, singing a specially reworked version of his hit song Candle In The Wind.

He was also among the celebrity guests invited to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor last year.

Harry and Meghan generated an estimated seven times the emissions per person compared to a commercial flight when flying home from Nice. 

The couple visited the £15million palatial home of Castel Mont-Alban owned by Sir Elton and his husband David Furnish overlooking the Promenade des Anglais during their holiday to the French Riviera.

The trip to Nice came shortly after Harry and Meghan, who married in May last year, had returned by private jet to the UK from Ibiza after a six-night break on the Spanish island to mark the Duchess’s 38th birthday. 

Sir Elton John’s full post on Instagram defending the Duke and Duchess 

‘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.

‘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.

‘After a hectic year continuing their hard work and dedication to charity, David and I wanted the young family to have a private holiday inside the safety and tranquillity of our home.

‘To maintain a high level of much-needed protection, we provided them with a private jet flight. To support Prince Harry’s commitment to the environment, we ensured their flight was carbon neutral, by making the appropriate contribution to Carbon Footprint™.

‘I highly respect and applaud both Harry and Meghan’s commitment to charity and I’m calling on the press to cease these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character that are spuriously crafted on an almost daily basis.’

Yesterday the Duke and Duchess sparked fury among some of their followers on Instagram by posting a quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu about doing ‘your little bit of good’.

The quote read: ‘Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.’ But one of their followers said: ‘How about less gaz guzzling air travel?’ 

Another said: ‘Time to ‘reign’ in your gas guzzling, hippocratic [sic] ways! You personally are destroying our planet more than any of the average citizens. Don’t you dare ever preach to us again about climate change.’

Last Wednesday, Harry and Meghan had arrived in France on a 12-seater Cessna aircraft, despite there being more than 20 scheduled commercial flights from London to Nice each Wednesday costing as little as £100 each. 

The Cessna plane would have cost more than £20,000 to hire, meaning Harry and Meghan could have taken 200 flights to Nice for the same price.

The visit to France came after their first Mediterranean holiday of the summer – a trip to Ibiza which saw them fly out on August 6 before returning last Monday. Both journeys were again made by private jet.

Veteran royal watcher Phil Dampier told MailOnline today: ‘Whether you think recent criticism of Harry and Meghan is fair or not it’s worrying to me that they don’t seem to care and aren’t about to change their behaviour.

‘They must have known that taking private jets four times in quick succession would leave them open to charges of hypocrisy but they just went ahead and did it anyway. 

‘They are not unique – other royals have taken private jets, but they have been criticised over the years as well. I certainly don’t believe they are getting a bad press because the British public are racist.

‘It is simply that people don’t like to be lectured on climate change by those who don’t do follow their own advice.’

Harry and Meghan are believed to have visited the £15million palatial home of Castel Mont-Alban owned by Sir Elton John

The author of ‘Royally Suited: Harry and Meghan In Their Own Words’ added: ‘Some families slave away all year to afford one nice holiday and they shouldn’t be made to feel guilty about harming the planet when Harry and Meghan are swanning about in luxury.’ 

Meanwhile Paul Morozzo, a climate campaigner for Greenpeace UK, told MailOnline: ‘An airliner is over ten times as polluting as a modern train, and private jets are ten times more polluting still. 

‘It’s vitally important that all frequent fliers reduce the number of flights they take if we are to confront the climate emergency, and that means the last thing we should be doing is building new runways anywhere in the UK.’

Labour MP Teresa Pearce said: ‘Given the position they have taken publicly about being responsible on climate change, this does seem an anomaly which they should look at.

‘I find this quite surprising because it doesn’t fit with their public image and the way they’re so concerned about the planet and the environment.’

Kensington Palace declined to comment on Harry and Meghan’s trip when contacted by MailOnline today.  

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