Harry and Meghan have arrived in Colombia at the start of a four-day visit to the Latin American nation – with pictures showing them warmly greeting the country’s vice president shortly after landing in Bogota.
The Duchess of Sussex was invited to the country by VP Francia Márquez after she learned of her story in depth via the couple’s two-part Netflix documentary.
The Sussexes were pictured smiling and walking hand-in-hand in Bogota shortly after meeting Ms Márquez earlier today, while official pictures show Meghan smiling broadly as she greets the top politician.
Meghan wore a navy blue summer suit, reportedly by American label Veronica Beard, and carried a light-coloured handbag, while Harry wore a matching dark suit and light blue shirt.
The couple have a busy schedule for the days ahead on the royal-in-all-but-name tour three months after their Nigeria visit – starting with a visit to local children’s school, the Colegio Cultura Popular, for a tour and meeting with its headteacher.
It is their second so-called quasi-royal engagementafter a trip to Nigeria earlier this year.
Meghan and Harry have arrived in Colombia for their four-day visit – landing in capital city Bogota
They were invited to the country by vice-president Francia Marquez (pictured), who was ‘moved’ by Meghan’s story as relayed in the Netflix documentary released in 2022
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Security is tight in the city, with armed police seen guarding the school where they are carrying out their first engagement
Soldiers standing guard near the Colegio Cultura Popular school, where the Sussexes are meeting its headteacher after being greeted by Colombia’s vicepresident
The pair are expected to stay in the £2,500-a-night Presidential suite at the Sofitel Legend Hotel in Cartagena
They were invited to Colombia for their quasi royal tour after the country’s vice president saw them on Netflix and was ‘moved’ by their story.
Harper’s Bazaar, the Sussex-sympathetic publication which is accompanying the couple on the trip, reports the couple were met by Ms Marquez after landing.
Meghan then presented Ms Marquez and her partner, Rafael Yerney Pinillo, with an unspecified personal gift ahead of a closed-door tea and coffee hour with traditional pan de bono – Colombian cheese bread.
The Duke and Duchess stayed at the residence for half an hour, where the Vice President expressed her gratitude for the couple’s official visit.
Across the next four days, the Sussexes will take in the city of Bogotá before heading off to Cartagena and Cali as part of a ‘cultural and social’ visit.
Harry will also meet members of the Team Colombia squad participating in the Invictus Games, who are gearing up for the 2025 games in Whistler, Canada.
Officials have kept the itinerary a closely guarded secret as parts of the country are described as ‘best avoided’ due to ongoing internal conflicts.
Colombia, like Nigeria, is seen as a high risk destination in parts by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
‘FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of Colombia,’ the government agency says, adding that many armed groups remain active in the country despite a 2016 peace deal between the government and revolutionary outfit FARC.
Ms Marquez told reporters earlier today the purpose of the visit was to ‘build bridges and open doors’ in order to tackle the problem of cyberbullying and discrimination online, particularly for young people.
She is reported to have told Harry and Meghan that they share the same goals when it comes to safety and mental health on social media.
However, she did not disguise that the trip will serve as a way of showing Colombia on the global stage – leading to fears that the Sussexes are being manipulated to shore up the vice-president’s reputation following a number of scandals.
Colombian president Gustavo Petro has a 34 per cent approval rating among voters and he has sacked centrist figured in his cabinet who opposed his expensive healthcare and pension plans.
Ms Marquez has been accused of using helicopters like taxis in order to shuttle herself back and forth from work. In the past, when asked why she used them so frequently, she is reported to have said she was the vice president, so ‘too bad.’
Prince Harry and Meghan meeting students in Abuja, Nigeria in May this year
Harry and Meghan will visit Bogata as part of their tour of Colombia
The vice-president of Colombia says she was moved to invite Harry and Meghan to the country after watching their Netflix documentary (pictured)
The VP says the visit has been on the cards for a year after she invited Meghan to the country a year ago on July 25, International Afro-descendant Women’s Day.
Ms Marquez said today: ‘We wanted to invite Meghan, an Afro-descendant woman, to participate in that meeting and share her experiences.
‘At that time we sent her a letter inviting her and she responded to us – the letter said that she couldn’t come but she was eager to visit and get to know our country.
‘Since then we have been working for a year to achieve this visit, which is so important and good.
‘(As for) how I met Meghan and Harry, well, I met them in the media but above all I saw the series on Netflix about her life and her story and that moved me and motivated me to say: this is a woman who deserves to come to our country and tell her story.
‘Without a doubt it will be a strengthening for so many women in the world.’
She also said of the visit: ‘I also want to take advantage of the media, of national and international communication, to invite the world to visit our country.
‘Colombia is a country with enormous cultural wealth, with unique biodiversity and strong people who want to get ahead.
‘Colombia, the country of beauty, wants to be the best host and so it will be.’
For Ms Marquez, part of the reason for the trip may be that she sees Meghan as an ally in cyberbullying.
She is the first black vice-president of Colombia and last year a woman was convicted after making a racist rant in which she called Ms Marquez an ‘ape’.
The Associated Press reported the woman, Luz Fabiola Rubiano, said: ‘Francia Márquez is an ape … what education can Black people have, they steal, attack and kill.’ She pleaded guilty to the charges in April 2023.
Ms Marquez claims she was the victim of over 12,000 racist comments on social media last year.
She told the press conference: ‘I think I have told the story, the history of racism and racial discrimination from when I was a child, I’ve been aware of it since I was 13.
‘For women today that are involved in politics in the world, we are exposed to a level of violence on social networks that affects our wellbeing (and) our dignity.’
