Harry and Meghan: Why are they going to Colombia?

Expectations are those of an unofficial royal tour. In the next few days, starting from Thursday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (who recently turned 43 in silence from the royal family) will be in Colombia for a trip that will be divided into several stages, following the invitation of the vice president of the country Francia Márquez, the first black woman to hold this role. It was the latter who confirmed the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the country soon and in particular the participation of Meghan (who will be able to show off her perfect Spanish studied in the private school she attended in Los Angeles and perfected in Argentina) in Bogotá, Cartagena de Indias and Cali, where she will meet with young regional Colombian leaders. “Her visit comes at a particularly significant time, as it precedes the first Global Ministerial Conference for the Elimination of Violence against Children, which will take place in Colombia next November,” Márquez stressed in a statement.

The trip to Colombia (which was not looked upon favourably by Buckingham Palace both for security reasons and for the somewhat too royal aspect in which it seems to have been organised) is also linked to the Archewell Foundationled by Harry and Meghan, which deals directly with some issues, such as the “promotion of safer digital environments”, which is one of the topics that will be addressed in Colombia at the Conference and in which the Foundation itself will participate. If on the one hand there is social commitment, on the other for many Colombian citizens this invitation to the Dukes of Sussex is part of an attempt by the government to use the glamorous couple to shift attention from some scandals that have hit the country (such as the corruption charges against President Petro’s son, who faces up to 25 years in prison on multiple counts, and the president’s alleged betrayal of his wife Veronica Alcocer, with television host Linda Yepes), where crime remains among the highest in the world.

In this atmosphere, Harry and Meghan will begin their four-day trip to Colombia next week, after their previous trip to Nigeria was not appreciated by King Charles and his staff for the somewhat too “royal” style in which it was organized. But as they have already amply demonstrated, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex often do their own thing.