They are the royal couple who have always embraced their close relationship with nature.
Whether photographed barefoot on the sands of Sydney’s Bondi Beach or lounging on the grass in the shade of a sprawling tree in the gardens of Montecito Palace, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are keen to promote a relaxed image, inextricably linked with a deep appreciation for the natural world.
On Instagram, they said there was a “ticking clock to protect our planet”. We are endangering this beautiful place we call home – for ourselves and for generations to come. Let’s save it. Let’s do our part.
But a new Royals poll by The Mail suggests the British public has big questions about the couple’s environmental credentials, with the majority accusing them of “green hypocrisy”.
More than half of those surveyed – 56 per cent – said that while Harry and Meghan present themselves as protectionists, their lifestyle appears to be at odds with the way they present themselves.
A comprehensive new poll for The Mail’s new Royals website has revealed how Britain will rule over Harry and Meghan
ONE WITH NATURE: Harry, Meghan, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit Bondi Beach
During a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in July 2022, Harry said climate change was ‘wreaking havoc’ on the planet.
Harry and Meghan live in an £11 million mansion with nine bedrooms and 16 bathrooms
The two have attracted scrutiny for trips around the world on private jets and using convoys of gas-guzzling cars.
In August 2019, just two months after making his Instagram statement, Prince Harry used a private jet and helicopter to fly to a Google conference in Sicily. Climate Summit as it happens.
In the same month, Harry and Meghan were reported to have taken four flights on private jets in just 11 days to travel between the UK, Nice and Ibiza.
In June 2022, the family made the £160,000 flight home to the US after the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee aboard a Bombardier Global 600, billed as a ‘Russian oligarch’s jet’.
According to climate experts, the flight would have resulted in ten times more carbon dioxide being emitted – nearly 60 tons – than if the Sussexes had taken a commercial flight.
Individuals can choose to offset emissions from aviation by paying companies to plant trees and engaging in other carbon offset measures on their behalf.
But it is not known whether Harry and Meghan chose to do so, and the couple has yet to say publicly if this is the case.
They frequently raise concerns about personal security, and this may also be a factor in their thinking.
The survey indicates that they still have some support. About 22 percent of those who responded agreed that some flights were “inevitable” for the couple, and that they made up for it by using their status to raise awareness of important environmental issues.
Back at ground level, meanwhile, the Sussexes have been spotted using vehicles that don’t meet their high environmental standards.
In July last year, they were whisked around New York City in a fleet of SUVs – the same day Harry gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly declaring that climate change was ‘wreaking havoc’ on the planet.
The experts said the convoy, which included at least two Range Rovers and a dark SUV, had carbon emissions of 235g/km per car.
Harry previously described how climate change was one of the “most pressing issues we face”.
Other findings from the Mail Royals survey include the fact that only half of people think Prince Harry should have been invited to the coronation. And 39 percent think he shouldn’t attend.
Less than half think the Duchess should be allowed to attend. It has now been confirmed that she will not accept the invitation, and will be staying at the couple’s £11m home with Lilibet and 3-year-old Archie.
It was reported that the couple’s delay in responding to the invitation was, in part, related to discussions about where they should be seated.
Half of those who thought Sussex should be allowed to attend thought they should have a prominent place in the historic ceremony, while 27 per cent disagreed.
Charles is said to be very happy at the coming of his youngest son, and his temperament is described as “generally indulgent”.
But Harry may not get the same welcome as his older brother, William. The Prince of Wales is said to still feel betrayed by the attacks Harry made on him and his wife, Kate, in his recently published memoir, Spear. Sources have claimed that William has no plans to speak to his younger brother during his short trip to the UK.
Harry and Meghan leave the United Nations building in New York with a convoy of no less than two Range Rovers and a dark SUV.
Seventy-one percent of respondents believe William and Kate are good role models for the country, compared to just 14 percent for Harry and Meghan.
Only one in ten thinks Harry and Meghan should receive public money
Other findings from the Deltapoll survey include:
- Amid the debate over Harry’s revelations at Spear, a third of people – 33 per cent – don’t support Harry publicly criticizing the royal family. Another 29 percent understand why he wanted to do this, but don’t think he should have done it in public.
- Nearly two-thirds of people (64 per cent) feel strongly about attacks on members of the royal family in Spear, and after the couple’s Netflix series in December, even Harry should be removed from the line of succession altogether. He is currently fifth in line to the throne, behind Prince William and his three children, George, 9, Charlotte, 7, and five-year-old Louis.
- The poll showed that 37 per cent believe Harry and Meghan owe the royal family an apology. But a third (33 percent) believe that both sides have a responsibility to bury the hatchet and apologize to each other.
- That may be difficult. Sources claim that King Charles and the Prince of Wales have no intention of apologizing to Harry, which he had hoped he would do before accepting his coronation invitation.
- Today just 14 percent believe the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are setting good examples for the country – compared to 71 percent who support William and Kate.
- According to 64 per cent of those surveyed, the Cambridge family “best represents modern Britain”.
The Sussexes are not the only ones who lack popularity. Prince Andrew remains the least favourite – and most of those polled would remove his two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, from the line of succession.
Some members of the royal family currently receive funding from the government through the Sovereign Grant, which comes from taxpayers.
But only one in 10 thinks Harry and Meghan or Prince Andrew should benefit from the grant. About five per cent of the couple’s income in 2018/19 – the first year of their marriage – came from the Sovereign Grant, but that has stalled since they left the business as royals.
The majority of the public – 74 per cent – equally believe that Harry and Meghan should foot the bill for their security needs.
Prince Harry is currently in a legal battle with the Home Office over the right to police protection when he and his family are in the UK.
The duke insisted his family required round-the-clock protection.
Meanwhile, although the Duke’s memoirs portrayed Charles as a rather ineffectual father, unable to hug 12-year-old Harry when he learned of his mother’s death, there was healthy support in the survey for Charles as a father.
More than four in ten – 43 per cent – said the king had done a “good job” raising his two sons.
The poll also determined that William embodies Diana’s values more than Harry by a margin of nearly two-to-one (50 per cent, down from 27 per cent).
Forty-three percent said Charles did a “good job” being a father
And as for whether Diana would approve of Meghan, the responses may not have been what Harry would have liked.
The prince claimed Meghan and his late mother would be “revolting like thieves” and “best friends”.
But those who responded to the poll were divided – 37 percent thought the Princess of Wales would have approved of the Duchess, while 36 percent felt differently.
The new findings are from a Deltapoll survey of 1,569 British adults between 24 and 27 March with statistics weighted to represent the population as a whole.
