Following Elton John's statement defending Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's use of a private jet to spend a few days holidaying with him and his family in his French villa, Ellen DeGeneres has followed suit and also leapt to the couple's defence – revealing a recent private meeting in Windsor.
The chat show host shared the details on Twitter, writing: "Portia and I met Prince Harry and Meghan in England to talk about their work on wildlife conservation. They were the most down-to-earth, compassionate people."
She concluded: "Imagine being attacked for everything you do, when all you're trying to do is make the world better."
The private gathering is thought to have taken place earlier this summer in their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage. Their meeting is not surprising as they are both passionate about the same topic – wildlife conservation.
Back in 2017, Ellen launched a campaign called #BeKindToElephants on her popular television show, The Ellen Show, which aimed to raise awareness about how amazingly smart and special elephants are and why they need to be protected.
And for her 60th birthday in 2018, Portia surprised Ellen by launching The Ellen Fund, which supports global conservation efforts for endangered species. The couple's immediate focus is to secure a future for wild mountain gorillas by building The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund a permanent home.
Earlier in this year, the couple also invited another very special guest to their home, Dr. Jane Goodall. The Duke of Sussex welcomed the legendary ethologist to Frogmore Cottage to talk about the environment, responsibility and climate change for Vogue's September issue.
In it, the royal made the surprising revelation that he and Meghan plan to have just one more child. "Two, maximum!" he told Jane when asked about having children.
"But I've always thought: this place is borrowed. And, surely, being as intelligent as we all are, or as evolved as we all are supposed to be, we should be able to leave something better behind for the next generation."
Ellen's decision to talk publicly about the Sussexes comes the day after Sir Elton John took to social media to fight back on their behalf about their use of a private jet to take Archie on holiday. The Rocketman posted a defiant statement on Twitter in defence of the royal couple, revealing that he felt "deeply distressed" by the backlash and saying he had provided them with his aircraft so that they could enjoy some privacy. He wrote: "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. I feel a profound sense of obligation to protect Harry and his family from the unnecessary press intrusion that contributed to Diana's untimely death. 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 tranquility of our home. To maintain a high level of much-needed protection, we provided them with a private jet flight. To support Prince Harry's commitment to the environment, we ensured their flight was carbon neutral, by making the appropriate contribution to Carbon Footprint."
Elton then went on to praise Prince Harry and Meghan, adding: "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. Elton."