Why are Harry and Meghan doing a tour of Colombia?

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are embarking on their second high profile international "tour" after arriving in the capital of Colombia.

Harry and Meghan have been invited to the South American nation by the country’s vice president, and the couple will visit Bogotá as well as cities on Colombia’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts.

They will make the visit despite warnings from the government of Harry’s home country, the UK, that tourists should “avoid all but essential travel” to many regions.

Meghan’s government, in the form of the State Department, categorises Colombia as a Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” country due to “crime and terrorism” and warns US citizens to “exercise increased caution due to civil unrest and kidnapping."

The border region with Venezuela is listed as a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” area.

In one increasingly popular tourist destination, Medellin, which was home to the famous drug lord Pablo Escobar, there has been one tourist death per week in 2024, according to recent reporting by the Spanish newspaper, El Pais.

Both the Duke and Duchess have made the trip, even though Harry told ITV recently that he didn’t consider the UK a safe place to being his wife, blaming years of tabloid newspaper phone hacking and vitriol.

The exact purpose of the visit is not clear, but the couple accepted an invitation from Vice President Francia Márquez, who is the first Afro-Colombian woman to hold that post and leads on equality issues and female empowerment.

It means there will be a natural meeting of minds between Márquez and Meghan.

The Duke and Duchess’ office says the visit will be centred around “meaningful cultural engagements rooted in the history of the country”.

But they are not going as part of an official British or American government trip, they no longer travel on behalf of the Royal Family and neither Harry nor Meghan has any Colombian heritage.

In Bogotá, Cartagena and Cali, Vice President Márquez said the Sussexes will visit three “vibrant locations” and they “will have the exceptional opportunity to engage with leaders, youth and women who embody the aspirations of voices of Colombians committed to progress".

But Márquez has been accused of inviting the high-profile couple to her country to divert attention from recent controversies surrounding President Gustavo Francisco and his administration.

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The president is facing a probe into the claims his re-election campaign was financed illegally, and his son is facing an investigation into corruption allegations. They both deny claims of wrongdoing.

Nearly a third of Colombia’s population of 50 million people live below the poverty line but income from tourism is growing rapidly.

The government will seize the opportunities from a visit by the former royals – and all the media attention they generate – in its ambition to overturn Colombia’s decades-long reputation for violent drug gangs and kidnappings.

Local media reports the Sussexes will travel to the village of San Basilio de Palenque, one of the last remaining habitations formed by escaped West African slaves in the 16th century.

It is now a cultural village which celebrates its unique blend of African traditions and indigenous customs.

Spanish settlers first arrived in 1499 and Colombia was a colony of Spain until its independence was gained in 1819.

Harry and Meghan also plan a school visit in the capital city, to further their recent campaigning on digital safety for young people who are too often exposed to incidents of cyber-bullying and online exploitation.

Harry’s Invictus Games for wounded and sick military personnel will also be part of the trip, when the couple meet some Colombian competitors.

The Sussexes’ most senior aide who would have completed a lot of the organising of the trip left his job earlier this week after both sides concluded he wasn’t the right fit.

A number of senior members of staff have left their roles working for Harry and Meghan both during their times in the Royal Household and since they re-settled in California and set up their Archewell Foundation.

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