Prince Charles Flown Less Than 70 Miles to Attend a Polo Match

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Environmentalist and heir to the throne Prince Charles is the subject of a decent amount of public ire after flying 70 miles to a polo match – burning around 200 gallons of aviation fuel in the process.

Displaying the sort of rank opulence that you'd expect from someone poised to inherit a crown full of giant diamonds, Charles has been branded a "hypocrite" after instructing the royal helicopter in Hampshire to fly to Highgrove, his Gloucestershire home, and then on to Windsor Great Park, 68 miles away, the location of Guards Polo Club. He reportedly reached his final destination in a Jaguar.

The polo match he attended was the final of the Coronation Cup between England and South America. England were victorious. After watching Blighty beat Johnny Foreigner he was taken back to Highgrove in the chopper, which was then flown back to its base.

Graham Smith, head of Republic, an anti-monarchy pressure group, said, "Charles is a serial hypocrite. There is no justification for flying around in helicopters. You're not going to convince a family of four to cut down on car use when a prince is flying around the country by helicopter."

Clarence House released a statement stating: "The charitable engagement at Guards Polo Club was fitted into a packed diary at relatively short notice. The Prince had a number of personal commitments after a heavy week of public engagements and his mode of transport was chosen so that no one was let down and limited time available could be maximised."