Camilla's high heels leave a huge carbon footprint

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Camilla's favourite silettos were flown 3,000 miles to Kuwait for her to wear - but she changed her mind the last minute

He has made much of efforts to reduce his carbon footprint.

But when it comes to his wife's wardrobe demands, it seems Prince Charles will go to any lengths to stay on the right footing with Camilla.

The Duchess of Cornwall had a favourite pair of shoes flown 3,000 miles to Kuwait for a lavish dinner with senior members of the Kuwaiti royal family, it emerged last night.

After discovering to her horror that a pair of her killer heels had been forgotten by careless aides, a member of staff is said to have been ordered to find them at the couple's Highgrove home and get them to her within 48 hours because they matched an outfit she had chosen for a gala event.

But astonishingly after the pair were flown over in the nick of time, Camilla decided not to wear them after all.

Last night Clarence House confirmed that the shoes were dispatched to Kuwait along with other personal items mistakenly left behind, but a spokesman denied claims that Camilla personally ordered the extravagant move.

The admission comes as the 3,000 mile trip was condemned as a profligate waste by green campaigners.

Senior courtiers also expressed surprise that Charles had agreed to have the shoes sent to Kuwait during their tour of the Gulf states last month, despite being at pains to stress his green credentials.

The considerable cost of the trip was reported to have been paid for by the Prince out of his Duchy of Cornwall income.

Last night a spokesman for Clarence House confirmed that the shoes had been flown over.

He said: "The Duchess did not ask for the shoes to be sent, but a member of staff did arrange for them to be flown over to her after they realised that they had forgotten to pack them.

"They were not specially couriered, but were sent along with a number of items and paperwork as is often the case on royal tours."

The revelation comes hot on the heels of fierce criticism over the prince's decision to fly to the Gulf with a 20-strong entourage - including the Duchess's hairstylist and dresser - on a private jet that could seat seven times that number.

Just weeks after declaring that he wanted to be the greenest member of the Royal Family, Charles arranged for an Airbus 319 operated by Paris-based company Aero Services to fly himself, Camilla and their party from London for a ten-day tour of four states.

The plane was converted from the normal 140-seat version to a flying palace accommodating 29 passengers in extreme comfort with video conferencing facilities, showers, ten fullsize beds and a walk-in wardrobe.

Charges for the flight were estimated to be as much as £60,000 for 24 hours, with extras such as fuel, food, airport fees and taxes sending this up to the £100,000.

Last year the Prince of Wales, one of the Royal Family's biggest users of private planes and helicopters, vowed 'substantially' to curb his reliance on gas-guzzling transport in favour of scheduled flights and train travel.

But in January he was attacked for his 'hypocrisy' by green campaigners and government ministers for taking 20 members of staff business class to New York in order to collect an award marking his environmental awareness.

A campaigner from the green pressure group, Plane Stupid, Joss Garman said: "This is a hell of a carbon footprint just for a pair of shoes.

"This is just the type of unnecessary flight that we need to be cutting down on.

"We have seen Prince Charles fly to New York for an environmental award and now this - he should be setting an example. This is a disgrace."

 

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