Prince William And Duchess Kate Took A Budget Flight To Scotland

The future King and Queen of England had to fly to Scotland with their three kids. Rather than sneak off into a private jet like some people, they took a commercial flight. And according to The Daily Mail, Prince William and Duchess Kate doubled down on the positive exposure by choosing a budget airline and getting “caught” by a photographer upon arrival.

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s friends continue to publicly defend their right to take private jet flights, regardless of how much climate change bums them out. This private jet debate feels like the kind of mess Harry’s family would want to stay out of, which is why there has been no official statement issued from Buckingham Palace. But William and Kate look like they wanted to make a subtle statement about the whole thing, which might explain why we just so happen to know all the details about their not-private, not-expensive family flight.

William, Kate, George, Charlotte, and Louis flew from Norwich International Airport at around 8:45am, to Aberdeen Airport, on a Flybe UK flight. Flybe is a discount airline. Will and Kate’s tickets were £73 (or $89.50). Vehicles were waiting for them when they arrived, where they were assumed to be taken to Balmoral to visit The Queen and Prince Philip. Here’s the video of the family exiting their flight.

A passenger on the flight tells The Daily Mail that William and Kate and the kids all sat up front, and that no one really knew they were on board. The passenger only clued in once they spotted Kate’s mom, Carole Middleton, a few rows ahead. I would have guessed that their cover was blown the second George stepped into the cabin, looked at his seat and said, “Ew, is that…vinyl?”

One of Elton John’s arguments while defending Harry and Meghan’s private jet travel was that they needed a “high level of much-needed protection.” A royal family expert tells The Daily Mail that William and Kate’s flight could prove that the royal family absolutely can take a regular, commercial flight. It could also prove that those rumors are absolutely true, and William and Kate hate Harry and Meghan more than the cramped legroom of coach.

The only problem is, if William and Kate were trying to do the opposite of Harry and Meghan, they failed. The opposite of a snobby, elitist, gas-guzzling private jet flight isn’t a commercial jet flight. It’s not a flight at all. William and Kate would have really sold the illusion of normal family realness if they had been photographed driving up to Scotland in a wood-paneled station wagon with William shouting that he’ll turn right back around if the kids don’t stop fighting over the iPad.

Pic: Wenn.com