Can the royals ever be net zero?
The Royal Editor weighs up their sustainable credentials
Hi everyone, it’s Emily here with my weekly newsletter.
It’s been a fascinating few days on the royal beat, with candid comments from the Princess of Wales on her cancer journey and a busy week of engagements for the King and Queen in Scotland.
But the most challenging day – for royal correspondents at least – came on Monday, with the publication of the Sovereign Grant and Duchy of Cornwall annual reports.
These are hefty documents detailing royal income and expenditure and they always generate headlines – from the decommissioning of the Royal Train to the amount of money spent on entertaining guests at the Palace (£3.2million went on hosting some 93,669 guests at 828 events, in case you were wondering).
Now, for a family of committed environmentalists, it might seems strange to put an end to decades of travel by Royal Train.
But it’s not like you and I saving on Co2 emissions by taking to the railway instead of the motorway.
Travel by the nine-carriage Royal Train is very expensive and the huge cost required to upgrade it for a modern rail network over the next few years could not be justified given how rarely it is used.
So the royals will instead continue to use two newly acquired helicopters, using Sustainable Air Fuel when possible, and electric vehicles, as well as regular trains, where appropriate.
This is all very commendable, of course, but given their lifestyle, with the vast properties and air travel they depend upon, can the royals ever really get to net zero?