Prince Charles Accused of Being Hypocritical Environmentalist

LONDON, 27 April 2009— -- Britain's Prince Charles has come under criticism for using a luxurious private jet during his his current European trip whose purpose was to highlight environmental issues. Politicians, critics and the British media have accused the prince of hypocrisy, because the trip, which began Saturday, will cover about 2,200 miles and add an estimated 53 tons to the carbon footprint.

Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, and their 10-member staff are visiting Rome and Venice, and Berlin before they return to Britain. The plane is said to contain a master suite and private bathroom, and costs more than $116,000 to charter.

Prince Charles and his wife met today with the Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican to talk about the environment.

The prince's spokesperson at Clarence House told ABC News that the prince was scheduled to fly on a Royale Air Force jet for his European tour, but the plane suddenly became "unserviceable" Friday, the day before the trip was to start, and he was forced to take a private jet instead.

However, British newspaper The Daily Mail reports that sources at the Italian airport, where the royal plane landed, said they had been informed that the prince would arrive by private jet several days before Friday.

The Prince's spokesperson also said, "I want to point out that his royal highness is asked by the British government to undertake these trips. And we consider all options: RAF plane, charter or scheduled flight. But we have to think about security, the costs and [the] program. "

This is the second time the prince of Wales has come under fire for flying on a private jet. In February, he used a chartered jet for another environmental tour, a 16,000 mile trip to South America.

At the time the prince's office said that "chartering a private plane was the only option ... as he had to visit many different countries and scheduled flights would have been unpractical."

Liberal Democrat Transport spokesman Norman Baker criticized the South American trip, telling The Daily Mail. "Prince Charles seems not to realize that he enormously weakens his case for tackling climate change by his own profligate and careless habits," adding that he found it "deeply unattractive to have somebody lecturing you on climate change when they are one of the greatest emitters of carbon themselves."