For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle begin their four-day trip in Colombia Thursday — what’s been described as a “quasi-royal” tour because they no longer represent the British government, but only their interests and personal causes.
The California-based couple should expect to receive glowing, wall-to-wall coverage from a reporter, representing “a hand-picked publication,” who has been chosen to be part of their entourage, according to The Telegraph. Meghan most certainly will go through multiple changes of designer outfits, as the American former TV actor and her husband help their host, Vice President Francia Marquez, “illuminate Colombia’s role as a beacon of culture and innovation.”
The trip is expected to include photo-friendly stops in the capital Bogota and in the regions of Cartagena and Cali, The Telegraph reported. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will visit a town founded by runaway slaves that has become a symbol of anti-colonial resistance. Moreover, they will continue the work of their Archewell Foundation, which focuses on improving online environments for young people, by attending a summit of experts, activists and community members, People reported. At one point, they also will get together with Colombian Invictus Games competitors at a luncheon hosted by Marquez.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro (L) speaks next to Colombian Vice President Francia Marquez during a rally in support of his social reforms in Bogota on June 7, 2023. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP) (Photo by JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images)
But questions have arisen over the real purpose of the high-profile trip and who really benefits. The Telegraph and the Daily Mail report that the tour has sparked controversy, with claims from people in Colombia that Harry and Meghan risk being used as “political pawns” by a government facing turmoil, corruption scandals and opposition by other branches of power.
“I’m sure Meghan and Harry mean well, but everyone here is talking about how obviously they are being manipulated,” a prominent Bogota lawyer told the Daily Mail. “Of course, their star power will be used to bring attention to poor people and certain areas of culture in Colombia … but the reality is the Colombian government has been drowning in scandal since it came in two years ago. They need something to appease people at home and make them look good abroad.”
President Gustavo Petro is a former left-wing guerrilla and Bogotá mayor who pledged to transform Colombia into a more equal society, NPR said. But he’s faced criticism and protests for failing to enact promised reforms on health care, education and benefits for single mothers and abused women, the Daily Mail reported.
Some of the criticism has been self-inflicted, NPR added. Known for his incendiary rhetoric, he’s been accused of cheating on his wife, while his foreign minister has been suspended for alleged corruption, and his 2022 campaign is under scrutiny for possible illegal donations, NPR and the Daily Mail said. In addition, he’s recently alleged that the commander of rebel forces paid to have him assassinated by snipers. Meanwhile, Colombia continues to struggle to overcome its reputation for being overrun by drug trafficking and murderous cartels.
There’s no indication that Harry and Meghan will meet with Petro, since their invitation comes from his vice president. Still, the couple face other questions — which they are unlikely to answer — about who is paying for their flights to Colombia, their expected luxury accommodations and their security, The Telegraph said. It’s expected that the government — and therefore Colombian taxpayers — will foot the bill for providing their high level of security, especially if they travel with Marquez, who has been the target of assassination attempts, the Daily Mail reported.
“People are grumbling about why the Colombian taxpayer should pick up what will be huge security costs for what is essentially a public relations exercise for the Sussexes and for a government which desperately needs to deflect away from its failures,” a source told the Daily Mail.
Lagos State Governor wife, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu (L), Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu (2ndL), Britain’s Prince Harry (2ndR), Duke of Sussex, and Britain’s Meghan (R), Duchess of Sussex, pose for a photo at the State Governor House in Lagos on May 12, 2024 as they visit Nigeria as part of celebrations of Invictus Games anniversary. (Photo by Kola SULAIMON / AFP) (Photo by KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty Images)
The Colombia trip also has revived criticism over Harry’s claims that he doesn’t feel safe bringing Meghan and his children to the U.K., because he was cut off from armed police protection when he and Meghan stepped away from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California. But now, he and his wife are traveling to Colombia, with the U.K. and U.S. governments having warned against travel to certain regions because of concerns over terrorism, kidnapping and street crimes.
Because Harry and Meghan are not traveling to Colombia in an official diplomatic capacity, they can’t expect expert advice from the British Foreign Office on how to navigate sensitive political or cultural matters.
“When you have this quasi-royal status, you’re seen internationally as a royal and you’re treated as such on tour, but you don’t have the protection of the Foreign Office,” royal author Anna Pasternak told The Telegraph. “This is a high-risk tour for them.”
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“When a country invites you, you’ve got to wonder ‘what’s the agenda?’” Pasternak continued. “In what way does this fit into the narrative, and how they want to be seen on a global scale?”
Pasternak authored a book on Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor who was another American who married into the British royal family but found herself exiled from the monarchy’s center of power. Pasternak sees some parallels between Harry and Meghan’s quasi-royal tours to Nigeria this past spring and now Colombia and the controversial trips that Edward and Wallis undertook as “private citizens” at the invitation of foreign governments.
One trip in particular showed the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s poor judgement and greatly damaged their reputations. In 1937, the year after Edward abdicated from the British throne, he and Wallis visited Germany, where they were feted as royalty with power and influence. They also enjoyed tea with Hermann Göring, observed Hitler Youth training and were photographed meeting with Hitler himself. Less than two years later, Hitler invaded Poland and the U.K. and France declared war on Germany, launching World War II.
While no one believes that the Sussexes would ever get embroiled in anything equivalent to emerging Nazism, Pasternak and others explained said there are potential risks when Harry and Meghan mingle with heads of governments without following the usual diplomatic protocol. As much as possible, the British government has tried to distance itself from the Sussexes globetrotting activities, with one Foreign Office source telling the Daily Mail that their trip to Colombia is “utterly irrelevant” to British interests abroad.
But Pasternak believes that Harry shares some of Edward’s reasons for pushing for these quasi-royal trips. Edward and Wallis accepted Germany’s invitation to visit in 1937 “because Edward felt so hurt and angered by the way Wallis had been rejected by the royal family, and he desperately wanted her to experience the pomp and ceremony of a royal tour.”
“He wanted Wallis to be addressed as HRH and for people to curtsy to her,” Pasternak continued. “I’m not suggesting that Harry wants the pomp and ceremony of a royal tour, but there is a feeling that he’d like [to elevate] Meghan to the status accorded to her.”
