Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may no longer be working royals, but their latest tour to Colombia reveals that they are definitely treated as though they are still working for the crown.
On the first day of what is planned to be a four-day tour, the Sussexes visited a school to discuss the impacts of social media with students and later spoke at a summit on digital responsibility, which was partially organized by their Archewell Foundation.
The office of Colombia Vice President Francia Márquez, who extended the invitation to the Duke and Duchess, stated that the couple will be meeting “leaders, youth and women who embody the voices and aspirations of Colombians committed to progress,” as per BBC.
Having faced criticism, bullying, and attacks on social media, Harry and Meghan were prompted to campaign for a safer internet.
Recently, they launched the Parents’ Network, an initiative designed to offer a safe and supportive community for parents dealing with the impact of social media harm on their children.
Speaking to CBS, Harry said, “I think, one of the scariest things that we’ve learnt over the course of the last 16, 17 years that social media’s been around, and more so recently, is the fact that it could happen to absolutely anybody.”
He added: “We always talk about in the olden days if your kids were under your roof, you knew what they were up to; at least they were safe, right? And now, they could be in the next-door room on a tablet or on a phone and can be going down these rabbit holes. And before you know it, within 24 hours, they could be taking their life.”
As Harry and Meghan emerged from a building to greet the crowd, Meghan made a comment, and lip reader Nicola Hickling shared with Mirror that the Duchess said “hand” to her husband, to what he responded “Here you go.”
Royal expert and author Robert Jobson writes that the Sussexes’ arrival to Colombia has “raised more questions than answers” with locals.
“When Harry and Meghan touched down, it wasn’t just the Colombian sun that made people squint. It was the blinding glare of their celebrity,” Jobson said, wondering whether the couple are a “shiny distraction to keep the people from looking too closely at the cracks in the walls.” Further, he questioned who’s paying for all the luxuries and the security, which was described as “massive” by the Independent journalist Nick Pisa, who accompanied Harry, Meghan, and the vice president.
“We’ve seen 14 car and police van convoys carrying the Sussexes through the streets of Bogotá since they arrived this morning and have been on four engagements,” Pisa said.
“There’s a bit of controversy with the vice president over the fact that she seems to travel everywhere by helicopter, but we should say she has been subjected to several death threats and also several attempted assassinations.”
The journalist added: “It does raise serious questions about why Harry thinks that Great Britain might be a little bit too unsafe for him, but he’s happy to stand next to someone who has, unfortunately, quite literally got a target on her back.”
Indeed, Colombia may not be the safest place to travel to as the U.S. Department of State has Colombia on a Level 3 travel advisory, urging visitors to “reconsider travel” due to “crime and terrorism,” yet, Harry and Meghan accepted the invitation to visit the country. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they received backlash for this decision, having in mind they claim they fear for their children’s safety in the UK and that’s the reason they don’t travel there.
Hilary Fordwich, royal expert, told Fox: “This entire tour is the height of Harry’s hypocrisy. Yet another stop on their ‘worldwide privacy tour.’”
She added: “He has claimed he is concerned regarding security in the U.K. [but] Colombia is ranked far more dangerous.”
Royal reporter Duncan Larcombe said on GB News, “Every time there’s an official royal tour, an overseas visit, it’s always at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office because of soft diplomacy.”
“There’s a reason that’s got to happen. Harry and Meghan have effectively just decided to accept invitations. They went to Nigeria earlier this year. Again, that had nothing to do with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Larcombe added: “It had nothing to do with their status as royals other than they were able to be persuaded to go. I think the question that everyone’s asking is, ‘why on earth are they there?’ What are they trying to achieve?’”
“It’s hard to fit them all in. He always says he can’t come to Great Britain with Meghan because it’s too dangerous without his royal security. Yet he goes to a country that I think I’m right in saying the Foreign and Commonwealth Office warned British subjects not to go there.”
Do you believe this visit would provoke even further conflict between Harry and the rest of the British royals?
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