When the President of the United States travels, the Secret Service pack up “the Beast,” the armored Cadillac with all kinds of James Bond-like security functions. The Beast – or sometimes several Beasts – go with POTUS everywhere. But that’s the president, who arguably faces the highest security threat in the world. While I don’t doubt that King Charles and Queen Camilla need security and special security provisions, it does seem like Charles once again refuses to practice what he preaches when it comes to environmentalism. For Charles and Camilla’s three-day tour of France, there were several options for their travel to France and within France. They chose to fly everywhere and bring their own Bentley. From the Guardian’s coverage last week:
King Charles, who is on his 35th visit to France, and Queen Camilla landed at Orly airport on a British Airways flight and were met on a red carpet by the prime minister, Élisabeth Borne. Their mode of transport was in contrast to Elizabeth II, who had travelled to Paris by Eurostar train in 2004 and 2014.
The king and queen were driven from the airport in their own Bentley, which was transported from the UK. But the king accompanied Macron down the Champs-Elysées in the presidential Citroën DS7 convertible accompanied by 136 horses of the republican guard.
Again, why bring the Bentley if it’s not a security issue to travel in a presidential convertible down the Champs-Elysees? Why travel by plane when QEII used the Eurostar with no security drama? It’s weird. So was Charles’s travel within France:
King Charles and Queen Camilla faced criticism today for flying from Paris to Bordeaux while preaching about the need to cut carbon emissions to fight global warming. The 360-mile Paris to Bordeaux hop is no longer permitted on Air France after the French government banned internal flights of less than two hours 30 minutes for ecological reasons.
Instead, travellers can make the journey in just over two hours on a direct TGV high-speed train. But that option was ruled out for the King and Queen, who landed in Bordeaux on Friday lunchtime to fierce criticism from green activists and parts of the French press.
“This plane trip may seem surprising for a King who has made the environment his priority,” an editorial in La Depeche, the regional newspaper, said. “In Bordeaux, his visit will be focused on ecology with a visit to an experimental forest and an organic vineyard and a meeting with the personnel mobilised to deal with the wildfires in Gironde [the department that covers Bordeaux] in the summer of 2022.”
Green MP Sandra Regol said it was “very disappointing” to see a plane being used by the royals, especially after Charles made a stirring speech about saving the planet in the Paris Senate on Thursday.
The 74-year-old monarch told the upper house of the French Parliament that France and Britain needed to “strive together to protect the world from our most existential challenge of all – that of global warming”. His comments came a day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the UK would be rowing back on some of its key net zero pledges, including pushing the ban on petrol and diesel car sales to 2035.
I’m sure there are security issues and what have you, but here’s my thing – if I had the choice between traveling by plane versus high-speed rail in Europe, I would take the train every time. Even if Charles has access to his own (taxpayer-funded) plane, flying is such a f–king hassle. Charles should practice what he preaches, especially since his mother made a point of using public transport while visiting Britain’s French neighbors.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- King Charles and Queen Camilla during day 1 of a State visit to France are welcomed at the Elysee Palace by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron. Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla, French President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Macron Where: Paris, France Credit: Starface Photo/Cover Images **UK AND USA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Queen Camilla, King Charles III attending the State Banquet at the Palace of Versailles, Paris, during the State Visit to France. Featuring: Queen Camilla, King Charles III Where: Paris, France When: 20 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III, watched by the President of the Senate, Mr Gerard Larcher, and the President of the National Assembly, Mrs Yael Braun-Pivet, signing the visitors book in the Salle des Conference as he arrives to address members of the Senate, at Luxembourg Palace in Paris, on day two of the state visit to France. It is the first time a member of the British Royal Family has spoken from the Senate Chamber. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Paris, France When: 21 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III addresses parliamentarians in the Senate Chamber, at Luxembourg Palace in Paris, on day two of the state visit to France. It is the first time a member of the British Royal Family has spoken from the Senate Chamber. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Paris, France When: 21 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III arrives to attend a reception on the flight deck of HMS Iron Duke in Bordeaux, on day three of the state visit to France Featuring: King Charles III Where: Bordeaux, France When: 22 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III gestures to members of the public gathered outside the Hotel de Ville in Bordeaux on day three of the state visit to France. The visit celebrates the strong and historic ties between Bordeaux and the UK Featuring: King Charles III Where: Bordeaux, France When: 22 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Queen Camilla during a visit to Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte vineyard in Bordeaux, to learn about about sustainable vineyard practices in the Bordeaux wine producing region, on day three of the state visit to France. Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Bordeaux, France When: 22 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Queen Camilla during a visit to Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte vineyard in Bordeaux, to learn about about sustainable vineyard practices in the Bordeaux wine producing region, on day three of the state visit to France. Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Bordeaux, France When: 22 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
“Do what l say, not what l do” is the hypocrite Environment King’s motto as he swans around on his private planes and luxury cars.
Do as I say, not as I do
Chuckles has always been a do as I say not as I do kind of a**hole. He is too royal and ordained by god( or whatever the correct term) to travel like the peasants. He will never change. I’m sure that when he dies he will expect private travel to and accommodations in hell.
@Susan Collins I’m crying at your last sentence, omg 😭
Nobody’s booing on a private flight. He’d rather be criticized in a medium he doesn’t have to read or watch, rather than boo’ed in a public space where he can’t avoid it.
I think you’re onto something, MRSCOPE.
The press made excuses for his flight to Bordeaux alleging that his itinerary was leaked. Charles is a hypocrite and a greenwasher. Traveling by train would have boosted his eco credentials but he’s too entitled and stupid to see that.
he didn’t take the train because he didn’t’ want to, and he doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do. It’s really as simple as that.
the surprising thing is that he was so obvious about his hypocrisy and that there are actually people calling him out for it.
I am going to take a guess based off of the Sunak controversy about this same issue (Sunak has been all over the news for his constant plane/helicopter use in the UK and refusal to take a train, combined with most recent announcement of possible pull back on desperately needed updates and connections to the northern corridor rail system) that No 10 ruled out an internal train because it would be contrasted with the PM’s behavior. “If it’s good enough for the King, surely the billionaire PM can also take a train?” kind of deal. Of course, it’s possible this was the courtiers, I actually really doubt it was Charles insisting. But, there’s sooo much overlap with the Tories and BP/KP right now, I really think the interests of the current government are enmeshed quite firmly within palace decision-making.
Although to be fair to him (ugh, that makes me feel dirty), Sunak is open about not caring about the environment so he’s less of a hypocrite than Charles here.
Can we just get rid of all the uber-wealthy?
Bah, too slow to edit original comment! Just to add, that the current front page of the Guardian is all about Sunak’s 180 on the high-speed rail system…This seems to be dominating the news from what I can see, and is quite controversial (when your current rail system is referred to as “Victorian era” that ain’t great!). With this timing, I could well imagine No 10 sensitivity around the King using France’s very good TGV (high speed rail system) to get from Paris to other parts of France (that’s what the issue appears to be about- the northern connection to London is being delayed/possibly canceled). So, Sunak’s personal behavior and probably the fact that the UK’s train system is pretty crap from not being kept up and now appears to not be going to be improved all could be why they didn’t want news coverage of Charles on a functioning fast train. Better for him to take the environmental hit than deal with comparisons!
Even with Sunak’s refusal to take the train and the roll back on green initiatives, does anybody really think that Charles would take the train in France? He doesn’t even use the train in the UK. Charles didn’t use public transportation because he didn’t want to. Simple as that. He supposed “love”of the environment is just for show or just another way to tell the peasants how to live, while he does whatever the hell wants, environment be damned. The man just made sure to exempt royal properties from the new green laws passing in Scotland. That was this year.
France has a president and a PM? Now I gotta Google what kind of govt they have.
Anywho Charles will always let his ego get the best of him. He chose flights and an imported Bentley bc he thought it would make him look grander. As usual, he was too short sighted to see the whole picture. Idiot.
We elect a president and then they chose their minsiters and Prime minister.
When we vote for a presidential election, there is a first round where anyone who gets 500 back up signatures can be voted for. You vote directly for one candidate, not for representatives who will vote for a candidate.
And if no one has the “absolute majority”, then there is a second round opposing the 2 contestants who got the most votes.
It’s the candidate who gets the majority of votes who becomes President for 5 years.
In the past few elections, the Far Right was oposing the other candidate, that’s why they get elected. Macron got elected again not because people were fine with him (though some people are!) but because people don’t want a Far Right president.
Yeah, France has a very special and interesting kind of parliamentary regime so welcome to the rabbit hole!
The PM is chosen depending on the National Assembly majority but ever since the constitution has been changed so that the President is elected directly by the people, he is more powerful than the PM except when there is what we call “cohabitation” meaning that the National Assembly majority and thus the PM’s party is different from the President’s party. Which is less likely to happen now that the constitution has been changed so that the presidential elections and the legislative elections for the National Assembly are synchronised.
Even if he didn’t claim to be an environmentalist, the fact that France has just banned these internal short-hop flights makes it a terrible look. i’m delighted that he’s being called out for it.
Plus I would argue that going first on the TGV is actually better than business premier (the top option) on the Eurostar, better seats and I’m sure they could have rustled him up some snacks and booze.
Cowmilla’s necklaces remind me of someone, can’t put my finger on who🤔.
Does the name start with a M and end in N? Will we next see Crocmilla wearing a long wig with beachy waves and parted down the middle?
I would give anything for a high speed rail option here in the States. Europeans have my admiration here. Charles never does the admirable thing. He’s highly predictable that way.
Chuck is finally the king. He’s not going to travel by train or do anything the peasants do, the environment be damned. And he doesn’t care if everybody knows it, just keep the tax money & bags of cash coming. It’s fun being king.
“Rules for thee but not for me”
Also, he has aged 15 years in the last year, hasn’t he?
Also usually looks like he slept in his clothes.
Because both he and his heir are H. R. H hypocrites are us!
It is well known that Charles hated public transportation. In fact it’s said that he even hated First Class on commercial flights which is why the part about British Airways is surprising to me. He usually exclusively travels by private jet; was this a charted British Airways flight or did he really get on a plane with the peasants?
The Queen seemed to really enjoy trains including regularly taking that special royal train to Scotland but her heir never seemed to have that same affinity for it.
Charles has his own damn train!
If he is not going to use it….melt it down or something.
He looks unkempt and wrinkled. He used to be quite a sharp dresser, not fashion-wise, but quality clothing. He’s got a wrinkled shirt collar, creased, cheap-looking suit, what the hell??!!
Not a good representation. It’s embarrassing to be that rich and look that dishevelled.
Yup that is a very baggy gramps-y suit, not at all like how he used to dress. He seems perhaps to have put on weight in the mid body—I guess that is normal at his age, which makes him need a looser jacket and contributes to him looking dumpy. You expect him to reach in those pockets at any moment and fumble around for a grimy Werthers Original.
Britain is no longer “rich” so the suits are no longer spiffy and of great quality
It’s really one way for them and another for the peasants. But we can blame the French officials just as much because in France there really is a culture of blaming the poor for taking the plane once in a blue moon (some don’t even take it once in their life) and then allowing rich people to use their jets all the time.
This probably wasn’t about Charles at all. The rail does not come supplied with his wife’s preferred drink, and you’re not allowed to smoke on public transportation. The Bentley does come with her own supplies. Likely she can smoke in it, too. I bet she sat in the Bentley the whole way over and the whole way back, sucking on a ciggie and swilling her drinks. I think its as simple as that.
Over the decades, Charles has proved he has some concern for the environment. When I started my horticultural career in the 70s, he was admired – even respected – in the industry as a forward thinker. The papers made fun of him then, and it used to make me so mad! But we know he’s a weak man, and we know he know-tows to his wife completely. I figure she was saying ‘if you make me go, this is what I want, I must insist’ type thing and he caved to her demands, like always. She must love bossing around the king. That’s my take, anyway.
But didn’t QE have a private car that was just hooked onto the train? She could do what she wanted in it.
Imagine being in her role and rolling up to meet foreign dignitaries while reeking of cigarette smoke. So trashy.
@Gale but the mystifying part of this is that Camilla is said to suffer from vertigo so badly she requires extra recovery days from tours. That’s been the party line for a while. So it’s especially odd she wouldn’t be pushing to take a train instead of an ear popping flight.
As someone who also suffers from vertigo after flights, I don’t get this either.
What I do understand is that Charles is a hypocrite.
On top of being oblivious to the optics (KC) , Brexit has caused huge delays crossing the Channel. Many holidays were cancelled this summer. Doesn’t reflect well on Tory governance either.