Singer Elton John said he's "deeply distressed" by media accounts that criticized the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for taking a private jet to go on vacation despite the flight's carbon impact of the planet.

In a series of Twitter posts overnight, Sir Elton revealed he paid for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to travel by private jet to visit his $26 million home in Nice.

The Rocket Man singer, 72, said he provided the luxury 12-seater Cessna plane, that would have cost more than $36,000 to hire, due to the "high level of much-needed protection".

Sir Elton launched the passionate defence of the couple online and begged for "fair coverage" after photos emerged of them boarding a private jet with son Archie.

He said: "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.

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

He said the flight was carbon neutral because it was offset by a contribution to Carbon Footprint.

The couple were also defended by Ellen Degeneres, who took to Instagram to share a post about the royal couple.

"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 wrote.

"Imagine being attacked for everything you do, when all you're trying to do is make the world better."

Last month, another celebrity publicly defended the royal couple.

After Markle was accused of diva-like behaviour at Wimbledon, Serena Wiliams was asked by one reporter whether Markle would watch her play in the finals given the "negative media" surround her last appearance.

"You know I didn't know there was negative media out there," Williams replied. "Every time I see her name attached to anything I don't read it."

The tennis superstar also praised the Duchess — who she has been close with since meeting at a celebrity volleyball event in 2014 — for being a good person.

"She couldn't be a better friend to me — low moments, high moments she's always there and that's all I want to be to her," she said.