King Charles facing accusations of hypocrisy over refusal to have airport terminal named after him

Terminal 2 of Heathrow Airport is named after the late Queen Elizabeth II. Heathrow reportedly also wanted to honour her son, the new King Charles III, ahead of his coronation by naming Terminal 5 after him.However, these plans have now allegedly been axed.

King Charles reportedly asked ministers to decline Heathrow’s offer due to 'environmental considerations', a government source told The Times. Buckingham Palace then 'called in ministers to turn down the airport's offer', according to the publication.

King Charles rejects airport terminal named after him

As reported by The Times, Buckingham Palace said that Charles decided to refuse the offer based on 'government advice', however it’s 'understood' that the ministers were led by the King’s own wishes.

When asked about the possible renaming of Terminal 5, Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said:

There would be a nice symmetry I think to have our two main terminals - Terminal 5 and Terminal 2 - named the King's Terminal and the Queen's Terminal.

But that's a matter for the Cabinet Office. We've had a long association with the royal family. We're very proud of that.

Charles has long been an active environmentalist, calling for action to address global warming and climate change, and fighting for conservation and sustainability.

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King Charles accused of hypocrisy

However, Charles has faced accusations of hypocrisy for his frequent use of private jets and helicopters.

Indeed, Jane Corbin, host of Panorama’s Will King Charles Change the Monarchy? which aired on 24 April, revealed that:

In the last year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, they [the royals] spent more than £2million on helicopters and £800,000 on private jets.

The official Royal financial reports for 2021-22 show that travel costs increased by £1.3 million to £4.5 million after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. This included 26 journeys that cost over £15,000 each, according to a report by Express on 25 April.

Norman Baker, former Liberal Democrat minister and a critic of the monarchy’s expenses, took aim at the King in particular:

The Royal Family loves helicopters. It loves private jets. And it goes around lecturing people about climate change. Prince Charles, as he was then, took a helicopter to Cambridge to lecture people about this ‘poor planet’.

Sources used:

Mirror: 'King Charles 'rejects plans to rename Heathrow Airport terminal after him''

Sky News: 'King 'turned down Heathrow Airport plans to rename Terminal 5 after him''

New York Post: 'King Charles nixed Heathrow terminal renaming in his honor: sources'

The Times: 'King Charles shoots down plan to honour him at Heathrow'

Express: 'Royals under fire for 'spending over £2m on helicopters and £800k on private jets''