The news of His Majesty’s visit to Southwark last week, where he attended a discussion warning about climate change, has been overshadowed by the fact he took a 112-mile helicopter to get there.
Last week, King Charles III paid a much-anticipated visit to The Africa Centre at its new home in Southwark – after he couldn’t make the official opening back in July.
During his visit, King Charles joined a discussion around the role of the African diaspora in the UK, which included an in-depth talk about the effects of climate change in Africa and how the impact can be mitigated.
WATCH: King Charles visits Southwark to talk climate change at The Africa Centre
Since then, news has arisen that he took two 112-mile helicopter trips in the space of twenty-four hours in order to attend the event.
This came to light after a notice to Air Missions was issued on January 26, the day he travelled, for a No Flight Zone between Sandringham and London from 11.15 am to 12.50 pm.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson defended the decision, saying it was made to ensure ‘minimal disruption’ for the public.
“Royal Travel seeks to find the best balance of security, efficiency, and the need to minimise disruption for others when planning transport for His Majesty’s busy programme,” the statement read.
One Twitter user said in response: “Disgraceful – what a load of ridiculous excuses for this completely unnecessary air travel.”
Another said: “He is useless at scheduling – plan ahead and stop polluting!”
But not everyone was critical, with a few coming to his defence. One tweet read: “How else would you expect the King of England to get to two places, 112 miles apart, in one day?”
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