Prince Harry and Meghan have landed in Colombia for their second major overseas tour outside of the Royal Family.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were welcomed by vice president Francia Marquez to her private residence after she invited them for the four-day visit.
In the first official photograph released by the couple’s team, only Meghan is seen with the vice president.
It’s hoped the visit will help showcase the cultural heritage of the country but also draw a focus on to the couple’s personal priorities, such as the impact of the digital world on young people, celebrating the military community and female empowerment.
Ahead of the visit the vice president described how watching their Netflix documentary about leaving the Royal Family had inspired her to send the invitation.
She said: “[The documentary] moved me and made me say that this is a woman who deserves to come to our country to tell her story. This exchange will undoubtedly empower so many women in the world.”
Their first day is due to be spent in the capital Bogota and will see them visit a school to meet teenagers at a session on online safety, watch a cultural showcase and attend a summit hosted by Ms Marquez looking at the urgent need to tackle the harmful aspects of technology and digital platforms.
Their decision to travel there has particularly drawn attention because of the issues of security.
The US travel advice for Colombia is at level 3, urging people to “reconsider travel”, but in contrast the couple currently say they don’t believe it is safe for them to visit the UK after their police protection was removed.
Simon Morgan, a former royal protection officer and now a private security consultant, told Sky News they will get local security in Colombia alongside their private team but only because they were invited, which is what makes it different from Harry’s personal trips to the UK where he isn’t given security.
He said: “Whilst it’s not a place that you would go ‘yes it’s ideal to go to’, you can still go there, but you’ve got to put a lot more in place because of the nature of environment and the current threat and risk in relation to Colombia not just with the drugs cartels but also with the far-left terrorists that are there as well.
“Because [those groups] ultimately will look at this occasion to add embarrassment to the government, cause destabilisation… And it’s an ideal opportunity because the Sussexes going to Colombia is going to be a world event, it’s going to be focused on and therefore that sheds light on to the cartels and the far-left terrorist cause.”
In February, Prince Harry lost a High Court challenge over the decision to downgrade his security protection since leaving the Royal Family and moving abroad.
But he was later given the right to appeal.
In May he travelled to London without Meghan, and it is understood he won’t be coming back to the UK for the funeral of his uncle Sir Robert Fellowes this summer.
Mr Morgan says it’s an incredibly complex matter, emotionally and financially.
He said: “It’s always going to be a sticking point because the duke himself is very much used to 24-hour protection, he grew up with that, we always say the Royal Family have cradle-to-grave protection.
“He values having the continuity of that team with him and therefore getting access to all the other resources around the world that you would get by being a protected principal here in the UK.
“It’s a very emotive issue and it’s an emotive issue on both sides. Not just the Sussexes themselves, but those police officers that would ultimately have to travel with them, it also becomes a logistics issue for the Met Police around officers being outside of the UK.
“And it then becomes a legal issue as well around do they have the legal right to carry arms, the use of force. So a very complex issue.”
During the recent ITV documentary Tabloids On Trial, Prince Harry said: “It’s still dangerous, and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read and whether it’s a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that are of genuine concern for me. It’s one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country.”
Source Agencies
