Incredibly, the royal plane drama is somehow still going.
After weeks of media furore about his and his family’s flying private, complete with slapstick interlude where Will and Kate flew budget only to find out the airline had moved empty planes 500 miles on their behalf, Prince Harry has “broken his silence” on Planegate, according to People. He said in Amsterdam, during his most recent public appearance: “I came here by commercial. I spend 99% of my life traveling the world by commercial. Occasionally, there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure my family are safe and it’s genuinely as simple as that.”
Harry was in fact in Amsterdam to launch a project to promote sustainable travel. CNN reported:
The project, known as Travalyst, will work to encourage sustainable practices in the travel industry and aims to improve conservation, environmental protection and community economic development, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.
“What is clear across this vast landscape is that our world faces environmental challenges of unprecedented scope and scale,” said Harry in a speech announcing the initiative in Amsterdam Tuesday.
“These human-caused challenges often need a giant system shift to make a significant enough impact. And that is what this partnership is here to try and do.”
Genuine suggestion: Bring back the royal yacht, but as a tall ship. The ability to arrange your own schedule so you can travel by water seems, to me, the best argument for being a royal. Maybe also invest in a luxurious private railcar?
The good news for Harry is that August is over and real news will happen again.