Ellen DeGeneres revealed she and wife Portia de Rossi secretly met Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan as the talk show defended the royal couple amid backlash over their private jet use.
“Portia and I met Prince Harry and Meghan in England to talk about their work on wildlife conservation,” DeGeneres, 61, tweeted on Monday, August 19, alongside a photo of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. “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.”
According to royal expert Omid Scobie, Harry, 34, and Meghan, 38, spent time with DeGeneres and de Rossi, 46, in Windsor, England, earlier this month.
The duke and duchess came under fire after photos surfaced of the duo and 3-month-old son Archie boarding a private jet to Elton John’s vacation home in Nice, France, days after the Suits alum returned from a trip to Ibiza. The musician revealed he and husband David Furnish actually provided Harry and Meghan, who have been vocal about the effects of climate change, with the ride in a series of tweets on Monday.
“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,” John, who was close friends with Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, tweeted on Monday.
The Grammy winner, who performed at Harry and Meghan’s May 2018 wedding, added that he and Furnish “ensured their flight was carbon neutral, by making the appropriate contribution to Carbon Footprint” to “support Prince Harry’s commitment to the environment.”
Harry’s close pal Nacho Figueras also defended the twosome in the comments section to John’s Instagram post on Monday.
“I also have the privilege of spending time with this 2 great human beings. I say privilege not because of their status but because of the kind of people they are,” Figueras wrote. “They are the most humble and kind people that I know. And who they are should allow them to be even more inspiring to all of us. … They are a treasure in today’s society and we should be taking care of them and feeling inspired by them. I know I do.”
The polo player concluded his comment with a message for Harry and Meghan: “H & M, we have your back, please be patient and do not change a thing.”
Kensington Palace has yet to publicly comment on the private jet controversy.
