THE Queen has appointed environmental consultants to turn the royal palaces into models of green efficiency, under pressure from her eldest son to provide a lead for the nation.

Sources say that the Queen intends to emulate the Prince of Wales, who will announce in his annual review in July that he and his household at Clarence House are now “carbon neutral”.

The Buckingham Palace consultants are expected to recommend significant changes in the conduct of official functions to reduce the use of helicopters and chartered planes.

However, critics are likely to argue that genuine cuts in emissions can be achieved only by introducing a scaled-down monarchy and that the Queen will have to resort to “carbon offsetting” to achieve much progress.

For the past two years Prince Charles has “offset” carbon emissions by investing in projects to restore forests in Uganda, introduce biofuel cookers in India and fit energy efficient lightbulbs in townships in South Africa.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman confirmed: “We are talking to a number of organisations about our carbon footprint to reduce the royal household’s impact on the environment. It is now part and parcel of the management policy here.”

The palace has 40,000 lights and, despite the recent installation of low-energy floodlighting, many are inefficient incandescent bulbs. A photograph taken by a thermal camera shows the worst insulated areas, which appear red, while the best insulated are blue and green.

“The Queen’s easiest wins are going to be by improving energy efficiency and changing thousands of lightbulbs in the palaces,” said Tony Juniper, executive director of Friends of the Earth. “She needs to use renewable power where appropriate and change the cars that are in use by the royal family for more efficient hybrid versions.”

Two Bentley limousines and two Rolls-Royces have been converted to run on either petrol or liquid petroleum gas and the Duke of Edinburgh drives a London taxi which runs on gas.

However, the carbon emissions generated by the royal family’s air travel wipe out any such savings and the royal household may find it difficult to wean itself off its reliance on flights.

In the latest year for which there are published accounts, the use of royal flights and charter planes increased marginally to 677 hours, although the figure was distorted by the Queen’s state visit to Australia via Singapore. Demand for the Sikorsky S76C+ helicopter also increased, although Charles, one of its heaviest users, has now given up playing polo in part to reduce his use of it.

The Queen and Prince Philip alone made 380 trips by air in Britain and 45 overseas last year. The royal train was used for 14 journeys covering 9,800 miles.

At times of popular unease about the cost of the royal family, it has suited courtiers to cultivate the urban myth that the Queen wanders around the palace corridors switching off lights.

However, the impact of any such homely remedies is limited. According to an analysis of official energy consumption figures, her residences pumped out 810 tons of carbon last year. According to carbonfootprint.com, the overall figure for the Queen’s household is 3,751 tons a year. The national average is 10 tons per person.

The Queen’s decision to hire advisers on her carbon footprint marks a rise in her commitment to providing a green example. In 2004 it emerged that she wanted to build a turbine in the Thames to generate electricity for Windsor Castle, but the scheme remains “in development”.

At Buckingham Palace there are plans for an energy-efficient combined heat and power plant, which can burn wood or gas, and to use boreholes to cool the royal wine cellars instead of electricity-hungry air conditioning units.

Some advisers are concerned that an overzealous approach may backfire. Charles has gone considerably further by converting his Jaguar and Range Rover cars to run on 100% biodiesel and encouraging his staff to cycle to work. He even authorised his private secretary to declare that he now drives his beloved Aston Martin for a mere 100 miles a year.

Such a campaigning stance has left him open to relentless scrutiny. This weekend his advisers had to defend his decision to take a private jet to his Easter holiday retreat at Birkhall, on the Balmoral estate. They pleaded that security and the comfort of the Duchess of Cornwall, who is recovering from a hysterectomy, left him with no option.

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