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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to journey down to Colombia for a “not-royal” tour has stirred wild reactions across the globe. The couple ushered in their era of “faux royal tour” in May, with their visit to Nigeria aimed at promoting the Invictus Games in the West African country. The trip turned out successful, and within weeks, the duo snagged another official invitation, this time to visit the northwestern South American country of Colombia.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, invited by Colombia’s vice president Francia Márquez jetted off on their latest tour on Thursday, but the purpose of the four-day visit remains unclear to even the most dedicated royal observers. During a sit-down with The Sun’s Matt Wilkinson on the Royal Exclusive show, royal expert Victoria Murphy shared her take on the trip, tagging it as “baffling” and “vague.” According to her, she could see no clear reason why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle needed to embark on the Colombian tour.
While she acknowledged that the Sussexes could indeed “have their own reasons,” she deemed it “baffling” especially when compared to the previous visit to Nigeria. Victoria admitted she could make sense of the Nigerian tour given Meghan’s 43% Nigerian heritage, and Harry’s goals for the Invictus games. However, with Colombia, connecting the dots left a lot wanting. She shared,
“This feels just slightly random. And yes, we’re talking about themes they’re going to focus on. But it’s quite vague on exactly how they’re going to and why they’ve chosen Colombia to highlight those themes.”
Harry and Meghan’s Tour Lack One Important Factor
Victoria Murphy compared Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Colombian tour with previous visits to Colombia by working royals. Last November, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh visited the South American country on behalf of the UN, promoting her mission to support female victims of gender-based violence.
The visit, which followed royal conduct, addressed critical issues that could impact the country directly. However, given that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s trip to Colombia was no matter of state, the royal expert believes they lack knowledge of “what’s going on” in the country or other areas they visit on these faux royal tours. Even worse, it hardly fit into their couple’s goals for the Archewell foundation, save for attracting “attention and self-publicity,” and creating more tension within the royal family. The royal commentator voiced,
“In the short term you can see there’s going to be a huge amount of tension over this tour, and probably they feel they want to highlight these areas they’ve spoken about; women’s empowerment, the military community, and it all sounds the intention is positive.”
Why Did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Go to Colombia?
Colombian Vice President Francia Marquez previously highlighted the importance of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s visit to Colombia on a four-day tour. In her announcement, the politician explained that the visit would help “present a global framework for creating safe physical and virtual spaces.” This approach would invariably address issues like cyberbullying and online exploitation as well as their impact on mental health ahead of the first World Ministerial Conference on the Elimination of Violence Against Children in November.
VP Francia Marquez believes Harry and Meghan are best suited to bridge the gap because their Archewell Foundation also leans towards promoting a safer digital environment. Hence, while the trip would treat the couple to Colombia’s rich cultural heritage, it would also provide them a platform to address these important topics, with activity-packed stops in Bogota, Cali, and Cartagena.
