Charles goes green with luxury yacht

In an attempt to cut his carbon footprint, eco-conscious Prince Charles is to charter one of Britain's most luxurious yachts to ferry him around the Caribbean on his upcoming tour of the islands. Owned by Sir Donald Gosling, the multi-millionaire founder of NCP car parks who Charles knows well, Leander is available for hire at £280,000 per week – but the Government is believed to have secured a knock-down rate.

At 245 feet, and with a complement of 25 crew, Leander is smaller than the Royal yacht Britannia, decommissioned in 1997 after the new Labour government decided the defence budget could be better spent elsewhere. At 412ft, Britannia boasted a crew of 260 Royal Navy officers and ratings, known in the services as 'snotty yachties'.

Leander is a frugal choice compared to the boats of other heads of state. The Saudi royal family's 482ft yacht Prince Abdul Aziz has its own hospital and car park for the king's fleet of luxury vehicles, whereas Sheikh Maktoum of Dubai's 525ft 'megayacht' Golden Star includes its own submarine.

Despite its relative modesty, Leander still boasts facilities never available on Britannia, including a swimming pool, exercise bikes and a team of stewardesses on hand to run candle-lit Jacuzzis 24 hours a day. It is not known whether they are trained in applying toothpaste to HRH's toothbrush.