Breaking News: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘quasi-royal tour’ of Colombia puts King Charles in a tricky… See More

It’s easy to be cynical about Harry and Meghan’s four-day trip to Colombia.

It had the look and feel of a royal tour with one important difference: the couple doesn’t work for the royal family.

When Buckingham Palace first announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would “no longer be working members of the royal family”, it was the late Queen Elizabeth II who underlined that her grandson and his wife would “not continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service”.

It was a statement that irked the couple. “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal,” they chided. In the three years since that war of words, Harry and Meghan have moved to California and set up their own not-for-profit outfit, The Archewell Foundation, with a mission statement of “Show Up, Do Good”. The latest iteration of that mantra seems to involve overseas tours.

Why the tour puts the King in a tricky spot

Foreign tours are cornerstones of royal work, an important set piece of soft diplomacy carried out on behalf of the British government and people.

The King, then Prince of Wales, and Camilla visited Colombia in 2014; Princess Anne toured in 1997; and last November Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, was there on the latest official royal visit, made at the request of the British Foreign Office to support the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Sophie Edinburgh’s tour was focused and low key, highlighting her work with survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and the rights of women and girls.

Although they’re not as well-known in Colombia as they are in the US — indeed some of the passers-by interviewed by journalists didn’t have a clue who they were — Marquez was certain that a visit by the power couple would “illuminate Colombia’s role as a beacon of culture and innovation”.

Marquez said she had been especially inspired to reach out because of Harry and Meghan’s TV six-part TV documentary. “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,” she told reporters.

Royal media not invited to Colombian tour

The tour started in the capital Bogota and took in the Caribbean and Pacific regions of Cartagena and Cali. It certainly had the framework of a royal visit with a series of engagements with carefully crafted photo opportunities.

One important change in “protocol” for Harry was that royal rota media were not invited. This is the press corps, some of whom work for the British newspapers, he is currently locked in legal battles with, so it’s hardly surprising he didn’t want them along.