Prince Harry has expressed various environmentalist and conservationist opinions over the years, and he’s involved with various charities and causes which do work in those areas. The media treats Harry like he’s giving daily lectures on climate change and that he should be thoroughly canceled every time he uses any sort of plane. Meanwhile, Prince William is actually the one trying to brand himself the keenest environmentalist ever and he’s constantly using private planes and helicopters with nary a whisper of hypocrisy in the media. Well, as it turns out, Mr. Keenshot Environmentalist makes a lot of money from a giant car dealership. The rank hypocrisy! BOOOooooOOOooo.

Prince William is earning hundreds of thousands of pounds a year from a giant car showroom complex in the Midlands, i can reveal. The Prince, who as the Duchy of Cornwall is one of Britain’s largest landowners, is vocal about his environmental beliefs and has called for a “decade of action” to repair the planet as part of his Earthshot Prize.

But documents obtained by i reveal that not all of the Duchy of Cornwall’s business activities are in line with its outspoken ideals. He has been accused of hypocrisy by campaigners from secretly making money from an industry that currently contributes to over 10 per cent of the UK’s total carbon emissions.

According to Land Registry documents seen by i, the Duchy of Cornwall bought the sprawling complex in Solihull in April 2022 for £15m when the royal estate was still owned by his father King Charles. The investment earns the Duchy £800,000 a year in rent and is home to one of Europe’s largest VW showrooms plus also houses Volvo, Skoda and Mazda dealerships.

Although there are a small number of electric or hybrid cars on the site, which is leased by Johnsons Cars, the vast majority being sold are petrol or diesel. Of the 251 cars advertised on their website as being sold at the Solihull site, 189 are petrol or diesel, 47 are hybrid and 15 are electric.

The Duchy of Cornwall said it “has championed the preservation of natural ecosystems for over fifty years” and achieves a balance between financial results and protecting the environment. It recently announced plans to become net zero across its entire portfolio by 2032.

[From i News]

If I wanted to give William the benefit of the doubt, there’s plenty to work with. For example, this land purchase happened when Charles was PoW, and clearly the Duchy saw it as a good investment. It sounds like it genuinely IS a good investment, especially if they’re getting £800,000 a year in rent. I’ll also say this in William’s”defense”: he is in no way running the duchy. He is the laziest man on earth and I bet he has no idea what goes on in the duchy. Now, do I also believe that this should be thrown back in Mr. Keenshot’s smug, hypocritical face? Yes. He spends all of that money to brand himself as the keenest environmentalist ever, meanwhile he’s raking in profits from the gas-guzzling car industry.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, screencaps via Ted Talk.