Elton John defends Prince Harry, Meghan Markle from ‘malicious’ press

Elton John has come to the rescue of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after the press has criticised them for their recent private jet travels. 

The singer took to his Instagram account to share his thoughts on the recent media coverage the royal couple has been getting over the last few months. 

On a recent getaway, the royals along with their Archie, visited Nice, France, last week and stayed at Elton John’s home.

They were seen arriving in a private jet, and incurred the wrath of critics who lambasted the eco-unfriendly form of travel considering the couple is against climate change.

Rushing to their defense, here’s what John said:

View this post on Instagram

I am deeply distressed by today’s distorted and malicious account in the press surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s private stay at my home in Nice last week. Prince Harry’s Mother, Diana Princess Of Wales was one of my dearest friends. I feel a profound sense of obligation to protect Harry and his family from the unnecessary press intrusion that contributed to Diana’s untimely death. After a hectic year continuing their hard work and dedication to charity, David and I wanted the young family to have a private holiday inside the safety and tranquility of our home. To maintain a high level of much-needed protection, we provided them with a private jet flight. To support Prince Harry’s commitment to the environment, we ensured their flight was carbon neutral, by making the appropriate contribution to Carbon Footprint™ I highly respect and applaud both Harry and Meghan’s commitment to charity and I’m calling on the press to cease these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character that are spuriously crafted on an almost daily basis.

A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn) on Aug 19, 2019 at 8:39am PDT

“After a hectic year continuing their hard work and dedication to charity, David [Furnish, John’s husband] and I wanted the young family to have a private holiday inside the safety and tranquility of our home,” John said in his Instagram caption.

“To maintain a high level of much-needed protection, we provided them with a private jet flight,” he continued. “To support Prince Harry’s commitment to the environment, we ensured their flight was carbon neutral, by making the appropriate contribution to Carbon Footprint.”

I highly respect and applaud both Harry and Meghan’s commitment to charity and I’m calling on the press to cease these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character that are spuriously crafted on an almost daily basis.

Elton

— Elton John (@eltonofficial) August 19, 2019

Ellen Degeneres and Pink have also spoken out in support of the royals.

Portia and I met Prince Harry and Meghan in England to talk about their work on wildlife conservation. They were the most down-to-earth, compassionate people. Imagine being attacked for everything you do, when all you’re trying to do is make the world better. pic.twitter.com/226pRO1fj1

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) August 19, 2019

I’m happy to see people coming to the defense of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The way people treat her is the most public form of bullying I have seen in a while. It’s out of control. Let’s all be a bit kinder, huh? Let’s show our children that it’s cool to be kind.

— P!nk (@Pink) August 20, 2019

Putting to rest the discussion of the couple being unconcerned about the environment, John further added that he paid for the flight to be carbon offset “to support Prince Harry’s commitment to the environment”.

Carbon offsetting is basically when passengers pay extra to help compensate for the carbon emissions produced from their flight.