Royal Family flew enough air miles ‘to get them to the moon and back’ in last five years

The Royal Family have collectively flown 545,161 air miles over the last five years, according to new research – enough to “get them to the moon and back, and then complete three loops of the earth’s equator”.

These 92 trips, taken by the 13 most prominent Royals between 2015 and 2020, came to a combined cost of £6.5m, reports Stratos Jet Charters.

Going through the Royals’ public financial reports from 2015-16, 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-19 and 2019-2020, the on-demand charter jet service put together its Royal Travel Index based solely on the Firm’s business trips – leisure travel was not included.

The findings showed that the majority of Royal flights were taken by private jet – the least environmentally friendly form of flying – with 61 per cent of official international trips in the last five years done by private jet charter.

Of all the Royals, Prince Charles flew the most, with 25 trips covering 120,213 air miles at a cost of more than £2.4m.

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The Prince of Wales’ most expensive trip, a lengthy tour of the Caribbean in 2019, cost £419,000 in total.

Meanwhile, the Queen and her husband Prince Philip flew the fewest number of air miles from 2015-2020 – just two trips covering 3,752 miles.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, came in just after, having made three trips totalling 16,398 air miles.

Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, was the only Royal to not take any of his official trips by private jet.

Joel Thomas, president of Stratos Jet Charters, said: “It has been fascinating to find out just how many air miles one of the world’s most famous families have racked up in the last five years.

“However, it is hardly surprising that the Royals choose to use private jets for their transport, they are extremely useful for utilising time, and as we know, the royal visits are often very busy with a lot of appointments.”

The Independent has approached Clarence House for comment.

Royal Travel Index

1. Prince of Wales (Prince Charles): 120,213 air miles; 25 trips; £2,468,501; 88 per cent by private jet.

2. Duke of York (Prince Andrew): 77,668 air miles; nine trips; £225,544; 33 per cent by private jet.

3. Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla): 69,425 air miles; 13 trips; £1,703,039; 92 per cent by private jet.

4. Duke of Sussex (Prince Harry): 51,362 air miles; seven trips; £442,900; 43 per cent by private jet.

5. Duke of Cambridge (Prince William): 48,496 air miles; 10 trips; £477,054; 70 per cent by private jet.

6. Princess Royal (Princess Anne): 42,331 air miles; eight trips; £287,778; 75 per cent by private jet.

7. Countess of Wessex (Sophie): 35,204 air miles; three trips; £73,291; 33 per cent by private jet.

8. Earl of Wessex (Prince Edward): 32,248 air miles; three trips; £81,167; 33 per cent by private jet.

9. Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine): 24,322 air miles; six trips; £288,196; 83 per cent by private jet.

10. Duke of Gloucester (Prince Richard): 19,990 air miles; two trips; £47,725; 0 per cent by private jet.

11. Duchess of Sussex (Meghan): 16,398 air miles; three trips; £326,645; 50 per cent by private jet.

12. The Queen (Queen Elizabeth II): 3,752 air miles; two trips; £83,575; 100 per cent by private jet.

13. Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip): 3,752 air miles; two trips; £83,575; 100 per cent by private jet.