The Prince of hypocrites: Charles embarks on 16,000 mile 'green' crusade... aboard a private jet



Prince Charles was accused of hypocrisy last night for using a private jet on an 'environmental' tour of South America.

The prince will travel to the region next month in a visit costing an estimated £300,000 as part of his crusade against global warming.

He will use a luxury airliner to transport himself, the Duchess of Cornwall and a 14-strong entourage to Chile, Brazil and Ecuador on a 16,400-mile round trip.

Another holiday: Prince Charles and Camilla will go to Chile, Brazil and Ecuador



Aides insist it is impossible for the prince to complete the ten-day official visit using scheduled flights as he will undertake almost 40 engagements.

They also stress that he will offset his carbon emissions.

But last night critics seized on his choice of transport. Labour MP Ian Davidson, a member of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: 'It would be hard to make this up.

'To hear that the Prince of Wales is flying to South America to save the environment and taking 14 staff on his jet at hideous cost just for this trip is the height of the absurd.



Fit for a prince: Charles and Camilla will travel in an Airbus A319 which seats 29. As a commercial plane it could have carried 134

'At a time when the greed of bankers is causing much adverse comment I would have thought that Prince Charles would have had more sense than to be so financially and ecologically wasteful.'

The prince's determination to bring environmental issues to the forefront of public policymaking has been regularly praised but has also left him open to accusations of hypocrisy.

He was roundly criticised for flying first class to the U.S. with a 20-strong entourage to collect an environmental award in 2007.

High style: The plush interior of the plane contains leather seats and DVD players

He has also been pilloried for continuing to use gas-guzzling transport, although he has converted his classic Aston Martin to run on biofuel made from wine.

Charles and Camilla will arrive for their spring tour in Chile on March 8 and end their trip with a visit to the Galapagos Islands to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin.

The couple will be flying with an exclusive charter company, which cannot be named for security reasons, in an Airbus A319.

As a commercial aircraft it would have carried up to 134 passengers but now seats just 29.

The company boasts its private jets have an exclusive 'VIP lounge' at the front of the cabin which can be split into a master suite with its own toilet and shower. The aircraft also boasts a satellite phone, printer, fax and laptop sockets and 'luxury VIP leather seats' with personal DVD players.

The cost of the trip will not be revealed until the prince releases his annual accounts later this year but it is expected to exceed £300,000.

Charles intends to use the trip to focus on issues of environmental sustainability and climate change as well as the wider ties between Britain and South America.

In Brazil, where he will visit Rio de Janeiro and the Amazon, he will concentrate on the problem of tropical deforestation, while in Chile he will try to enlist the help of the business community in building partnerships with the public sector to fight global warming.

Clive Alderton, the prince's deputy private secretary, stressed yesterday that the prince had undertaken the trip at the specific request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

'The issues of climate change and creating a high growth, low carbon economy are of great importance to both the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister,' he said.

'As the Government put it to me: we are fortunate to have, in the Prince of Wales, someone with 40 years of work and experience on environmental issues who can help lead the charge for Britain in the battle for countries which sit on the frontline of climate change.' As for the question of how much the tour would cost the public purse, Clarence House stressed that it had taken advice from the Government given the current economic climate.

Mr Alderton said: 'In this time of economic uncertainty we are extremely mindful of the cost and sought advice from the Government, who confirmed they wanted the trip to proceed given the importance of the strategic priorities that the visit would address and the bilateral diplomatic relations it would strengthen.'

He added: 'We looked at all available options of travel but the impracticability of moving around the region on scheduled flights meant that we had to take the charter option.

'Financially, we have secured the best deal that we possibly can.'

Last year Charles launched The Prince's Rainforests Project.

It works with governments, business, non-governmental bodies and individuals to increase global recognition of the contribution of tropical deforestation to climate change and to find ways to make the rainforests worth more alive than dead.

Additional reporting: Tom Kelly