Paparazzi photographed Prince William and his family boarding a plane in England Thursday to see Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. But the Cambridges didn’t take a swanky personal jet to visit grandma. According to the Daily Mail, they hopped on a £73 ($89) flight operated via budget airline Flybe.
It’s now not the first time Wills has opted to buy cheap aircraft tickets for a private journey.
A couple of years in the past, the prince flew American Airlines within the U.S. To get to a pal’s wedding (he sat in instruct and ordered a water bottle). In 2015, he became noticed on a Ryanair flight beforehand of pilot education. In 2012, he and his spouse, Kate, stuck a no-frills EasyJet flight returned from Switzerland, and in 2011, just after his $34 million weddings, William flew Flybe to see his cousin Zara Phillips married Mike Tindall.
Prince William has an anticipated internet well worth up to $40 million. He will be king of England in the future. So what’s he doing combating for legroom and asking for greater pretzels with everyday people in the economy?
Here are 3 potential reasons.
He’s Following the Rules
The British public spent £67 million, or approximately $ eighty-five million, at the monarchy in 2018, keeping with figures released through the palace in advance this summertime. The Sovereign Grant “meets the price of legitimate journeys undertaken by way of or in help of The Queen and different participants of the Royal Family,” which basically method they’re most effective presupposed to fly non-public whilst making state visits. The queen even enforces travel finance, so taxpayers don’t think they’re wasting cash, the Daily Express stated.
Of course, their spending receives scrutinized besides. In January, The Australian said that taxpayers down beneath needed to pay more or less $200,000 for the 19 flights Prince Charles and his entourage took during a ten-day trip there in 2018.
To observe policy and head off grievance, William usually will pay for his own recreational flights. Prince Harry does, too: Amid a few controversies, he covered the ride’s fee to see then-girlfriend Meghan Markle in Canada in 2016.
He’s Stirring Up Drama (and/or Saving the Planet)
Speaking of the Sussexes, they later came under hearth for taking four personal jet journeys in eleven days, which critics advised CNN clashed with their environmental activism. The outcry prompted Elton John to put up on Instagram that he and his husband had forked over the coins for the couple’s ride to their house in France.
“To maintain an excessive degree of whole lot-needed protection, we provided them with a private jet flight,” John wrote. “To aid Prince Harry’s commitment to the environment, we ensured their flight becomes carbon impartial, through making the precise contribution to Carbon Footprint™.”
Given the rumors of a feud between William and Harry, the Cambridges’ choice to fly industrial to Balmoral may be intentional.
“It is cost-powerful, safe and secure, and sends out the right message whilst he [William] has often spoken approximately the want for motion concerning weather trade,” royal commentator Robert Jobson tells MONEY.
