Harry and Meghan reportedly guarded by 3,000 Colombian police during tour but locals shrugged: ‘Who’s Meghan?’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have concluded their four-day, “quasi-royal” tour of Colombia, but conflicting images of their trip have emerged and raise ongoing questions about their visit’s purpose, who benefited and who footed the bill for the visit.

On the one hand, the Colombian vice president’s office and a hand-picked reporter from Harper’s Bazaar, who accompanied the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as part of their entourage, produced glossy images and glowing reports about the couple having fun interactions with school children, dancing and drumming at cultural events, speaking out against online social media bullying and Meghan taking the stage at an Afro Woman and Power event to deliver a rousing talk about women “using their voice,” according to The Telegraph.

On the other hand, local media raised concerns about the resources that went into hosting the exiled, California-based royal couple who no longer represent the interests of the British government, but only of themselves and of their causes, however worthy those causes may be. And even though Harry and Meghan are private individuals who no longer bring diplomatic value, they still appeared to receive a level of security that might make them feel as though they are heads of state.

Local Colombian reports said that 3,000 police were on duty for Harry and Meghan’s visit to the coastal city of Cartagena Saturday and a later trip to the town of San Basilio de Palenque, which was founded by runaway slaves, according to the Daily Mail.

A journalist for the Daily Mail, which has been in contentious court fight with Prince Harry, was “on the ground” in Colombia, though he wasn’t admitted to these events. The reporter observed all the roads blocked off in an area of Cartagena, where the couple visited the the Tambores de Cabildo music school. The reporter also described how a police Black Hawk helicopter and drone circled the sky and their entourage was accompanied by a police anti-terrorist, nuclear and bio-terror van.

The couple arrived in a Toyota Land Cruiser at the school, which was “ringed by police and security.” And despite the event being common knowledge, there were “barely any onlookers,” the Daily Mail reporter said.

No media were allowed inside the event, where Harry, Meghan and Vice President Francia Marquez, their host in Columbia, met with local children, teens and other community members, learned about Afro-Colombian music and culture and participating in a drumming lesson. Images and video of their hour-long visit were later released by the vice president’s office or by the couple’s Archewell Foundation.

It turns out that the Mayor of Cartagena, Dumek Turbay, was not invited to this event, telling a local radio station, “The vice president, Francia Márquez, did not invite me to any of the events, so I will watch on television the arrival of these illustrious figures to the city. … I don’t think I’m in the vice president’s heart.”

Harry and Meghan were then transported to San Basilio de Palenque, a town founded in the 17th century that is supposed to be a symbol of anti-colonial resistance. For the visit to the town, the couple changed outfits, Meghan exchanging the black, striped maxi dress she wore to the school for white pants and a matching tank top, Us Weekly said. 

The Sussexes appeared to avoid questions about the royal family’s colonial past and Britain’s role in the slave trade, which some activists thought they should have to address, The Telegraph reported. Perhaps, they were able to avoid such questions because they are no longer working members of King Charles III’s monarchy, The Telegraph also said.

Meanwhile, some of the entertainers chosen to perform for the Sussexes at San Basilio de Pelanque echoed the idea that the British royal family isn’t well known or all that relevant in Colombia, The Telegraph reported. The performers were not entirely sure of the identity of the VIP guests in the audience.

“Who is Meghan?” Justo Valdés, a 70-year-old singer, asked shortly before the couple’s arrival, according to The Telegraph.

Local journalists also told The Telegraph that their coverage of the Sussexes’ visit had not generated much interest among readers. One journalist, who did not want to be identified, told The Telegraph that the country faced far more pressing problems.

“People are expecting the government to address these issues rather than focus on a high-profile event with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” the journalist said. “Although addressing and confronting cyberbullying in children is an important issue, it is not the most pressing problem we face.”

Before and after the tour, some observers in the U.K. media and in Colombia puzzled over the purpose of the visit. For the Sussexes, the visit seemed to offer the chance for some positive P.R. as they seek to establish themselves as media moguls, philanthropists and global thought leaders. Even though they stepped away from royal duties in 2020, the trip seemed to allow them to play as though they are still working royals, with all the soft-power diplomatic cachet this status provides.

Over the weekend, an extensive The Times UK report on Harry turning 40 quoted a former friend in Britain who said he’s “an angry boy” who misses being “admired” and “everyone loving him, as they do William and Kate.” In a 2016 Times UK interview, Harry admitted that his big fear is becoming irrelevant and not be able to use his “privileged position” to make a difference.

But as Harry may be worried about staying relevant, people in Colombia expressed concerns that Harry and his wife were potentially allowing themselves to be used as “political pawns” by a government facing turmoil, corruption scandals and opposition by other branches of power, as The Telegraph and the Daily Mail reported.

“I’m sure Meghan and Harry mean well, but everyone here is talking about how obviously they are being manipulated,” a prominent Bogota lawyer told the Daily Mail. “Of course, their star power will be used to bring attention to poor people and certain areas of culture in Colombia … but the reality is the Colombian government has been drowning in scandal since it came in two years ago. They need something to appease people at home and make them look good abroad.”

Locals also brought up the costs of the trip, the Daily Mail reported. There’s no doubt that the tab for dispatching thousands of police and military personnel for the visit to Cartagena was picked up by the Colombian government. Such heavy security measures also likely were in place to protect the vice president, who has been the target of assassination attempts, the Daily Mail reported last week. But there’s little doubt that the high level of security would have pleased Harry, who has been in a contentious legal battle with the U.K. government since he lost his automatic right to police protection when he stepped away from royal duties.

Meanwhile, it’s unlikely that the Sussexes will ever reveal whether the Archewell Foundation or someone else paid for their travel to Colombia, their accommodations or Meghan’s wardrobe, which included 11 different outfits and jewelry over four days and was estimated to cost at least $116,000, the Daily Mail reported.