The post commands an £85,000 salary and entails organising air travel and scheduling the Royal Train trips. A crucial part of the role will be to negotiate “value for money contracts and options for travel.” The Queen is keen to ensure that costs are cut, after recent accounts revealed that the Royal family spent £4.6 million last year on travel alone.

This included sums of almost £200,000 spent on private jets for flights to and from Scotland.

The job advert was posted to the Royal Household website on Wednesday, with the closing date for applicants listed as December 20.

The job description said: ”This role is critical to ensuring that the Royal Household operates and purchases safe, efficient, cost effective and appropriate travel services for the official duties of Members of the Royal Family and their Households.

“As Director of Royal Travel, you will have overall responsibility for organising air travel and overseeing the operations of The Queen’s Helicopter Flight and usage of scheduled train services and the Royal Train.

“You will also liaise with the relevant authorities to provide advice and recommendations on travel, taking into account security, safety and environmental considerations.

“Leading a small team in the Royal Travel office, and The Queen’s Helicopter Flight, based at Odiham, you will provide logistic support to the Royal Household including support of Court moves, State Visits and the provision of the staff travel service in support of all Households and of the Royal Collection.

“You will be required to ensure planning and procedures are highly effective, researching and negotiating value for money contracts and options for travel, while understanding and recommending best industry practice in risk and safety management.”

The move to recruit a travel chief comes after Harry and Meghan were strongly criticised for flying on private jets.

JUST IN: Royal rebel: How Meghan Markle will ‘break tradition’ with new baby

The royal couple managed to charter four private jets in just 11 days in the last year, as they flew to and from Europe, covering a total of 3,508 miles.

Environmentalists have pointed out that travelling by private jets leaves a huge carbon footprint.

One of those jets was provided by Sir Elton John, who flew the couple to his home in Nice.

The singer justified using his jet because it was necessary to “maintain a high level of much-needed protection”.

DON’T MISS

Meghan out of place to comment on Andrew says VIRGINIA BLACKBURN [Update]
James, Viscount Severn: Queen’s grandson has taken over Philip role [Latest]
Meghan Markle receives touching advice from Helena Bonham Carter on… [Analysis]

The Sussexes were reported to have flown to Nice on a 12-seat Cessna Citation Sovereign, which has a fuel consumption of 247 gallons per hour.

The flight time to Nice is about one hour 40 minutes, which would mean a fuel requirement of 411 gallons (1,868 litres).

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) says 2.52kg of carbon dioxide is emitted for every litre of aviation turbine fuel burned.

This means that the return trip to visit Sir Elton John would result in 9.4 tonnes of CO2 being emitted.

The couple also reportedly flew to Ibiza in August, on a nine-seater Cessna.

Using the same calculation method, it works out at 10.4 tonnes of CO2 for the return flight.

The total for the two flights would therefore be 19.8 tonnes, equivalent to more than three times the annual carbon footprint of the average Briton.

In a speech he delivered at the launch of his new eco-tourism project in Amsterdam in September, Prince Harry said that flying on private jets was a decision he did not take lightly and was the result of the need to protect his family.

He claimed that “I have always offset my CO2.”

Source: Read Full Article