Sir Elton John has lept to the defence of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

The singer said he was "deeply distressed" by media attacks on the couple after they stayed in his home in Nice.

Elton John has fired out a series of tweets defending Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Source: Getty Images Europe

Sir Elton John has lashed out at the "relentless and untrue [character] assassinations" of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in a series of tweets, taking particular aim at the UK's tabloid media.

The move came after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle faced criticism for travelling on private jets - along with their young son, Archie - to the Spanish island of Ibiza and to Sir Elton's villa in Nice for a private family holiday. As both the Duke and Duchess are outspoken environmentalists, some in the media were quick to label the pair's movements as 'hypocritical'.

However, Elton John wasn't having a bar of it, tweeting: "I am deeply distressed by today’s distorted and malicious account in the press surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s private stay at my home in Nice last week.

He continued: "Prince Harry's Mother, Diana Princess Of Wales was one of my dearest friends. After a hectic year continuing their hard work and dedication to charity, David and I wanted the young family to have a private holiday inside the safety and tranquillity of our home."

Addressing the alleged hypocrisy of the couple's travel arrangements, Sir Elton not only insisted he provided the private jet for security reasons, and but that precautions had been taken to ensure the flights were carbon neutral. 

"To maintain a high level of much-needed protection, we provided them with a private jet flight," he wrote on social media.

"To support Prince Harry's commitment to the environment, we ensured their flight was carbon-neutral, by making the appropriate contribution to Carbon Footprint."

He added: "I highly respect and applaud both Harry and Meghan's commitment to charity and I'm calling on the press to cease these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character that are spuriously crafted on an almost daily basis."

Still, many UK commentators weren't buying the explanation.

"Royals should not receive favours from celebrities," one Twitter follower wrote in response.

"Paying for your carbon footprint is not an excuse. Using Private jets 3X weekly already plus one more rumoured upcoming trip to Sicily by PJ makes them fake eco-warriors. Media should continue to expose all of your hypocrisy."