The Green Prince Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, Prince Charles has told some of his staff to use bicycles in the fight against global warming. Charles wanted to be remembered as the “Green Prince” and was making a personal statement by planning a radical shake-up of his travel plans.  

Charles himself would stop using royal helicopters and private jets on official engagements whenever possible. His ‘hallucinated’ vision was causing a headache for palace staff and some senior courtiers fear his green plans could embarrass the Queen and other members of the royal family who continue to use helicopters and jets.

That was then, and now the ‘green freak’ was being accused of hypocrisy after planning to fly more than 11,000 kilometers with a staff of 20 people on a jumbo jet to accept an environmental award. He will receive a Global Environmental Citizen prize from Harvard Medical School’s Centre for Health and the Global Environment later this month. A spokesperson for the environmental group Plane Stupid accused Prince Charles of “green hypocrisy.” “Flying to an environmental award ceremony is a bit like turning up to an Oxfam award ceremony in a stretch limo,” said Joss Garman. A representative of Britain’s Green party said he was “disappointed” in the prince. “I am disappointed to see that — much like Tony Blair — his recognition of the threat posed by climate change does not extend to toning down his personal flying habits. Why can’t he set a genuine example and accept the award by video link instead?” the representative said.

~ by pickholes on March 27, 2007.