Meghan Markle, 40 and Prince Harry, 37, attended the star-studded Global ­Citizen Live concert in New York on Saturday, where the couple made a speech about vaccine equity. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex urged first world countries to donate one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries, in a move they claim is “necessary” to end the pandemic.

Elsewhere at the concert key commitments were announced through the hard work of many partner organisations, including demands for tough new eco laws to halve US emissions by 2030.

They also called for the “wealthiest nations” to deliver on a £70billion-a-year pledge to help developing countries go green.

However Harry and Meghan have been blasted for their actions of taking a private jet home from the concert, which a royal author has claimed “muddies the waters of their climate message”.

The couple were seen climbing aboard a Dassault Falcon 2000 jet to fly back to their home in Montecito, California where they reunited with their two children Archie and Lilibet.

Images show the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who stepped back from the Royal Family in early 2020, hugging their team after they stepped off the plane.

Their actions have come under scrutiny from royal author Penny Junor, who questioned why Harry and his wife did not take scheduled flights like his father Prince Charles, or his brother Prince William.

She told The Sun: “I’m sure there were plenty of scheduled flights.

“I do not understand why they are behaving as if they are superstars.

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Earlier during their New York trip, the Sussexes had also come under scrutiny as they toured the Big Apple in “gas- guzzling SUVs”.

It comes following comments made by the Duke and Duchess previously about the impacts of climate change and its critical status.

In May, Harry told Oprah Winfrey for an Apple+ TV series: “I believe even more that climate change and mental health are two of the most pressing issues that we’re facing.

“With kids growing up in today’s world — pretty depressing depending on where you live, your home country is either on fire, it’s either underwater, houses or forests are being flattened.”

The pair have faced scrutiny for their use of private jets in the past too, especially following their 2018 royal wedding.

In the year that followed their nuptials, the pair had taken six of ten round trips on private jets, according to The Sun.

These flights included one taken to Italy for a Google climate change summit, as well as trips to Ibiza and Nice.

In August, the prince was also seen taking a private plane to California, following a polo tournament for his Sentebale charity in Aspen, Colorado.

Prince Harry has previously defended his usage of private jets, and insisted that he spends 99 per cent of his life travelling via ­commercial flights.

In 2019, he said: “Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure that my family are safe, and it’s genuinely as simple as that.”

He explained that he tries to “balance out” the “impact” of private flights by off-setting his CO2 emissions.