Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have arrived in Colombia for the start of their four-day tour – and have taken part in their first official engagement in the South American country
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were all smiles as they stepped out hand in hand for the first engagement of their four-day tour of Colombia.
The couple touched down in the South American country today and their first port of call was Bogotá, where they were welcomed by Vice President Francia Márquez, who is the first Black woman to hold the position in Colombia, and her husband, Rafael Yerney Pinillo. The Sussexes headed to the vice president’s residence for coffee, tea, and traditional pan de bono (Colombian cheese bread) before exchanging welcome gifts.
The Duke and Duchess stayed at the residence for half an hour, where Ms Marquez expressed her gratitude for the couple’s official visit. She also shared that she feels she and the Sussexes share the same ideals and goals when it comes to championing a better, safer digital future and mental health landscape for our children and the world.
During their breakfast meeting vice-president Marquez also told Harry and Meghan of her admiration for his mother Princess Diana. Meghan, who was wearing a navy coloured Veronica Beard summer suit, and Harry, dressed in a suit, then headed to a children’s school, the Colegio Cultura Popular, in Bogota, where were given a tour and informational session by the institution’s head, Leonel Umaña Parra, and by José David, a student at the school.
A huge security operation, including armed soldiers, as well officers on motorbikes and sharp-suited security guards was in place outside the school. Harry and Meghan chatted with a group of around 20 STEM students aged between 12 and 18. The kids spoke about what they like and what worries them about technological change.
Although there was a translator at hand, Meghan showed off her good command of Spanish, Umaña said. He added: “She speaks Spanish well. “We had to explain a few of our typical Colombian slang words that our students use and that caused a few laughs and jokes. “At first we were told that there were to be no mobile phones or pictures due to protocol. But when we finished the session and toured the school with them they broke the protocol and posed for pictures with the kids. Harry told the teachers to keep up their good work, which they loved.”
This afternoon they will enjoy a theatre performance as well as a music and dance performance at the Plaza del Carnaval y la Cultura in San Juan de Pasto. Following the cultural event, Harry and Meghan will attend an internet safety summit.
The three-part Responsible Digital Future conference will include a panel led by youth and social leaders speaking about their experiences with online harm. Next, there will be a panel on the current tech landscape and tech accountability, and later, an informative session on the future of responsible tech.
The couple were invited to Colombia by Vice President Marquez, who gave a press conference just hours before the Sussexes landed in the country, where she explained she was moved to invite Harry and Meghan to the country after watching their Netflix docu-series, where they railed against their treatment when they were in the Royal Family.
She explained: “I saw the Netflix series about their life, their story and that moved me and motivated me to say that this is a woman who deserves to come to our country and tell her story and her exchange will undoubtedly be an empowerment to so many women in the world.”
Also during her press conference, she was asked about a trip Princess Diana had planned to make to Colombia shortly before she died in 1997. She said: “I think that Prince Harry being here today after that dream of his mum’s of visiting this country is an opportunity to show the best of our nation, to show who Colombians are. We are people who in the midst of adversities do everything possible to give the best of ourselves.”
The Sussexes are set to remain in Bogota on Friday so they can spend time with students to talk about emotional well-being in education. They will then attend a lunch hosted by Vice President Márquez, before getting together with Colombia’s Invictus Games competitors.
Colombia became the first South American country to join Harry’s sports event for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, when they competed at the Düsseldorf Invictus Games in September 2023. This four-day visit marks Prince Harry and Meghan’s first joint trip to Colombia, and during their stay they will also visit the cities of Cartagena and Cali.
The tour of Colombia also comes as Harry has spoken out about not wanting to bring Meghan and their two children to his homeland of the UK, branding it too dangerous as they don’t automatically get police protection when visiting Britain. The UK’s Foreign Office advises against travel to certain parts of Colombia while the United States State Department advises citizens to reconsider plans to travel there and urges people to “exercise increased caution due to civil unrest and kidnapping”. It is likely to see them guarded by heavy security.
Earlier this year, Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, travelled to Nigeria to champion their Archewell Foundation’s mental health initiatives and promote the Invictus Games, which Nigeria competed in for the first time last year.
They also met with military leaders, injured soldiers and school kids, who all gave the pair a rapturous welcome. Meghan, who discovered she is 43 per cent Nigerian following a genealogy test in 2022, was particularly thrilled by the reception she received in Nigeria, which she described as “my country”.
Afterwards, it was reported that the Sussexes were drawing up plans for similar trips after they were left thrilled by the reception and coverage of their trip. It came after the pair spent the past few years concentrating on life in Meghan’s native US, where they are raising their two children.