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Meghan Markle takes second private jet in a week to collect award with Prince Harry

Meghan Markle travelled by private jet for the second time in a week after flying to New York for an awards ceremony on Tuesday night.

The Duchess of Sussex, accompanied by her husband Prince Harry, was photographed by Page Six on Monday being greeted by friends on the runway.

Sources told The Independent that the duke and duchess travelled on a plane that was already going from California to New York for the event.

The Sussexes are attending The Ripple of Hope gala on Tuesday evening, where they will receive a human rights award. It is expected that the couple will make a red carpet appearance on Tuesday ahead of the gala, where they will be honoured alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and late NBA star Bill Russell for their work “to protect and advance equity, justice, and human rights”.

Last week, the duchess was seen boarding a private jet in Indianapolis after appearing at a female empowerment event in the city.

Fox News Digital obtained video footage of Meghan at an aircraft hangar after appearing on stage at a Women’s Fund of Central Indiana event on Tuesday.

The Independent has contacted Archewell, the couple’s non-profit, for comment. Last year, Archewell issued a net-zero plan which said the organisation is committed to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.

While flying overall is hardly a climate-friendly pursuit, commercial air travel is better for the environment than private jets. A 2021 report from the European transport campaign group, Transport & Environment, found that private jets are five to 14 times more polluting than commercial planes, per passenger.

The couple’s latest use of a private plane has already sparked criticism, with Piers Morgan describing the circumstances of the duke and duchess’s arrival as “beyond parody,” while others have questioned why Harry and Meghan didn’t take a commercial flight like the Prince and Princess of Wales, who travelled to Boston last week on a British Airways plane.

The duke and duchess’s arrival in New York City comes ahead of the release of their highly anticipated Netflix documentary. The first three episodes of the docuseries, titled Harry & Meghan, will be released on Thursday 8 November, while the final three episodes are expected to air on 15 November.