Mon. Nov 25th, 2024
alert-–-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-in-colombia-live:-duke-and-duchess-of-sussex-to-meet-invictus-games-athletes-in-bogotaAlert – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Colombia LIVE: Duke and Duchess of Sussex to meet Invictus Games athletes in Bogota

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will meet Colombia’s Invictus Games athletes in Bogota on the second day of their South American visit.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were welcomed by Colombia’s vice-president Francia Marquez and her husband Rafael Yerney Pinillo after arriving in the country on Thursday for the start of a four-day tour.

Ms Marquez, who said she was inspired to invite the Sussexes following their Netflix documentary, described the trip as a ‘very special visit’ aimed at tackling cyber-bullying and online discrimination as well as promoting women’s leadership in Colombia.

Follow ‘s live coverage below and join in the conversation in our comments section

15:53

Are the Sussexes being used as political pawns in Colombia?

by Caroline Graham in Los Angeles

When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry touched down in Colombia this week for their second ‘quasi royal tour’ they will, no doubt, be hoping the trip will boost their image on the world stage.

The Sussexes will began their four-day tour of the crime-ravaged South American country on Thursday and will visit the capital, Bogota, the historical colonial city of Cartagena on the Caribbean coast and Cali – where they will attend a cultural festival.

Arriving at the invitation of Colombian vice president Francia Marquez (the first black woman to hold that job), the faux royal duo will, according to Marquez, ‘have the exceptional opportunity to engage with elders, youth and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians… and illuminate Colombia’s role as a beacon of culture and innovation’.

The trip will allow Meghan, who celebrated her 43rd birthday last Sunday, to show off her fluent Spanish which she learned at private school in LA and perfected at the US Embassy in Argentina.

But for many Colombians, the Sussexes’ visit is viewed as little more than a cynical attempt by a failing Left-wing government to use the glamorous couple as ‘political pawns’ to divert attention from a series of scandals that have engulfed the regime.

15:38

Pictures: Harry and Meghan in Colombia

We are yet to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex today but we understand they will continue to carry out engagements in Bogota with a visit to the school while the couple will also meet Colombia’s Invictus Games athletes.

Here are some more pictures from the first day of their visit after they arrived in Bogota.

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - AUGUST 15: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex with Colombia Vice President Francia Márquez and Yerney Pinillo are seen during The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Colombia Visit on August 15, 2024 in Bogota, Colombia. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty Images)

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - AUGUST 15: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Maria Ressa, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Colombia Vice President Francia Márquez and Yerney Pinillo are seen at a Summit on Responsible Digital Future during The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Colombia Visit on August 15, 2024 in Bogota, Colombia. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty Images)

Prince Harry and Meghan attend a welcoming ceremony at the Delia Zapata National Arts Center in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan attend a welcoming ceremony at the Delia Zapata National Arts Center in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

Prince Harry talks to a performer during a welcoming ceremony perform at the Delia Zapata National Arts Center in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

15:27

Watch: Sussexes are missing Buckingham Palace's advice on foreign trips

Royal expert Michael Cole has suggested Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are missing the expertise on foreign trips from Buckingham Palace as he reacted to their first day in Colombia

The former BBC royal correspondent told GB News he believed the Royal Family would have vetoed a trip the South American nation because of its ‘volatility’.

Watch the video below:

15:06

RICHARD EDEN: The real reason Harry and Meghan have just lost their 18th member of staff

This article is available only to Mail+ subscribers

by Richard Eden

My first inkling that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may have trouble holding onto staff came back in 2018 when I received a tip that Meghan’s personal assistant, Melissa Toubati, had quit suddenly, just six months after the American actress had married into the Royal Family.

‘It’s a real shock,’ a source told me at the time. ‘Why would she want to leave such a prestigious job so soon?’

Officials usually decline to discuss staffing matters, so it took me aback when a senior Palace source chose to pay tribute to her publicly.

‘Melissa is a hugely talented person,’ the source said. ‘She played a pivotal role in the success of the royal wedding and will be missed by everyone in the Royal Household.’

14:48

Watch: Harry and Meghan's body language under the microscope

by Maria Chiorando

Prince Harry appeared ‘keen to avoid pulling royal rank’ as he and wife Meghan Markle met Colombia’s vice president, according to a body language expert.

Judi James spoke to FEMAIL about photos from the engagement.

She said: ‘Harry’s body language on their arrival and as they greet their host suggests some status-lowering as though he is keen to avoid pulling royal rank here.’

Judi suggested that the Duke was purposefully taking a backseat when it came to the spotlight.

‘He walks ahead, towing his wife along and allowing her to soak up all the attention with her elegant posture, that designer bag and her perfect, Duchenne smiles and excited eye-smiles, while his own facial expression looks less performative for the cameras,’ she explained.

The idea of Harry trying to avoid ‘pulling royal rank’ also appeared to be present as he greeted the vice president, according to Judi.

14:33

Watch: Harry and Meghan dance with Colombian locals

This is the moment Prince Harry and Meghan Markle literally got into the swing of their South American visit as they danced with Colombian locals in Bogota.

The couple dropped in to the Center for the Arts in Bogotá where they enjoyed a theatre performance as well as a musical and dance performance at the venue.

See the video below:

14:18

Harry and Meghan in Colombia: The security arrangements

Day 1 of Harry and Meghan's visit to Colombia hosted by the vice president Francia Márquez. Today they meet with the Vice President in the capital of Colombia Bogota.

The Sussexes are being given a full security detail throughout their visit alongside Ms Marquez.

Besides several police cars and vans, armed soldiers were deployed to protect Harry and Megan in a massive ring of steel in Bogota on Thursday.

Roads were blocked off and residents forced on lengthy detours to reach their homes or wait at checkpoints for events to finish so they could carry on.

Ensuring the couple’s security will be a high priority during their stay with Colombia, like Nigeria where the couple visited in May, seen as a high risk destination in parts by UK and US officials.

The Foreign Office warns against all but essential travel to certain parts of Colombia, with kidnapping rates remaining high.

It also describes the country as ‘seriously afflicted by conflict’ with a resurgence in violence in parts of Colombia despite the peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) movement to end the civil war.

As a result, officials have kept the itinerary a closely guarded secret because parts of the country are described as ‘best avoided’ due to ongoing internal conflicts.

14:01

Vice-president who invited Sussexes is ex-cleaner who is demanding slavery reparations

by Jon Brady

Harry and Meghan’s host in Colombia, vice-president Francia Márquez, is a politician unlike most in the Latin American country – and is demanding the West pay for what it did to her ancestors.

Ms Márquez, 42, is the country’s first black vice-president and its first minister for equality, who took office in August 2022 more than 160 years after its first black president, Juan José Nieto Gil.

She has said she is among those descended from the legions of Africans who were brought to Colombia as slaves in the 17th Century to work the country’s gold mines and sugarcane fields, many of whom still face racist abuse.

And as she invites the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Colombia in what some have seen as a diversion from her government’s domestic problems, she has called for Meghan’s home country of the US to lead on forgiving its billions in foreign debt.

Her journey from housekeeper to right-hand woman of the heavily left-leaning former armed revolutionary Gustavo Petro is an extraordinary one – punctuated with as much community campaigning as there is controversy.

13:46

Sussexes invited to Colombia following Netflix documentary

Harry and Meghan were invited to Colombia for their quasi royal tour after the country’s vice president saw them on Netflix and was ‘moved’ by their story.

Francia Márquez made the revelation as she briefed media ahead of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s arrival for their four day trip.

They will take on the cities of Bogotá before heading off to Cartagena and Cali as part of a ‘cultural and social’ visit.

Speaking to media Ms Marquez – who continually referred to the couple as ‘Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex’, said she asked Meghan to visit Colombia last year, but the visit had been delayed due to other commitments.

Ms Marquez, who has been accused of using helicopters like taxis, was asked by a local journalist why she had invited the couple to Colombia.

She replied: ‘I learned their story through Netflix and I was moved by it. Meghan is a woman who deserves to come to the country and tell her story.’

13:36

Watch: Prince Harry on the dangers of AI and disinformation

We can bring you footage of Prince Harry’s remarks at a a summit on digital responsibility and appeared to blame fake news for sparking the disorder in Southport.

The forum was staged by the Duke’s Archewell Foundation.

See the videos below:

13:27

How Prince Harry appeared to criticise Elon Musk over Southport riots

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - AUGUST 15: Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attends the 'Responsible Digital Future' forum at EAN University in Bogota, Colombia on August 15, 2024. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle land in Colombia to join Marquez in discussions with women and youth on combating discrimination and cyberbullying. (Photo by Juancho Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Duke of Sussex attacked misinformation on social media during a summit on digital responsibility and appeared to blame fake news for sparking the disorder in Southport.

What happens online within a matter of minutes transfers to the streets. People are acting on information that isn’t true.

He added that a lot of people were ‘scared and uncertain ‘about the potential impact of AI and that ‘education and awareness’ would be key to tacking misinformation.

X founder Elon Musk has come under intense criticism for misinformation on his platform relating to the events, with the world’s richest man even falling victim to it after sharing a fake story about Sir Keir Starmer looking at detainment camps for rioters.

Harry said:

It comes down to all of us to be able to spot the true from the fake. In an ideal world those with positions of influence would take more responsibility.

We are no longer debating facts. For as long as people are allowed to spread lies, abuse, harass, then social cohesion as we know it has completely broken down.

13:18

Prince Harry takes veiled swipe at Elon Musk

by Nick Pisa, Mark Duell and Elizabeth Haigh

Prince Harry appeared to criticise Elon Musk following the Southport riots in Britain as he and wife Meghan Markle began their four-day quasi-royal tour of Colombia.

The Duke of Sussex attacked misinformation on social media during a summit on digital responsibility and appeared to blame fake news for sparking the disorder.

Some 80 adults have so far been sentenced following violence which broke out in parts of the UK in the wake of three girls being murdered in Southport on July 29.

And Harry told an audience yesterday: ‘What happens online within a matter of minutes transfers to the streets. People are acting on information that isn’t true.’

He added that a lot of people were ‘scared and uncertain ‘about the potential impact of AI and that ‘education and awareness’ would be key to tacking misinformation.

13:09

In pictures: Harry and Meghan's first day in Colombia

Here is a snapshot of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first day in Colombia after they touched down in Bogota ahead of a four-day visit.

TOPSHOT - Britain's Prince Harry (C), Duke of Sussex, poses for a selfie with an artist as his wife Meghan (R) looks on during a visit at the National Centre for the Arts in Bogota on August 15, 2024. Prince Harry and his wife, American actress Meghan Markle, arrived in Colombia at the invitation of Marquez, with whom they will attend various meetings with women and young people to reject discrimination and cyberbullying. (Photo by RAUL ARBOLEDA / AFP) (Photo by RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images)

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - AUGUST 15: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout photo provided by the Colombian Vice President's Office, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (L) and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (2nd L) are welcomed to Colombia by Vice President Francia Márquez and her husband Yerney Pinillo at her official residence on August 15, 2024 in Bogota, Colombia. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are undertaking a four-day visit to Colombia. (Photo by Colombian Vice President's Office via Getty Images)

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - AUGUST 15: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex are seen at Centro Nacional de las Artes Delia Zapata during The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Colombia Visit on August 15, 2024 in Bogota, Colombia. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty Images)

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - AUGUST 15: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout photo provided by Archewell, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (L) is welcomed to Colombia by Vice President Francia Márquez at her official residence on August 15, 2024 in Bogota, Colombia. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are undertaking a four-day visit to Colombia. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau for Archewell via Getty Images)

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - AUGUST 15: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speak onstage at EAN University during a visit around Colombia on August 15, 2024 in Bogota, Colombia. (Photo by Diego Cuevas/Getty Images)

13:04

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Colombia: What happened on day one

Britain's Prince Harry sits with his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, as they meet with Colombia's Vice President Francia Marquez (not pictured), in Bogota, Colombia August 15, 2024. REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita

Yesterday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in Bogota to start their four-day visit of Colombia

The couple are being hosted by Colombia’s vice-president Francia Márquez, who invited them after watching the Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary

Here’s what you need to know from the first day:

  • Harry and Meghan spent the day visiting a school in capital Bogotá to talk to teenagers about the impact of social media.
  • In their second public appearance, Meghan and Harry attended a ceremony at the Delia Zapata National Arts Center in Bogota, where Meghan embraced artisan design by wearing a maxi dress by Colombian designer Johanna Ortiz.
  • Later, the Duke and Duchess spoke at a summit on digital responsibility staged in part by Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation.
  • Across the next three days, the Sussexes will take in more of Bogotá before heading off to Cartagena and Cali as part of a ‘cultural and social’ visit.
  • Harry will also meet members of the Team Colombia squad participating in the Invictus Games, who are gearing up for the 2025 games in Whistler, Canada.

Officials have kept the itinerary a closely guarded secret because parts of the country are described as ‘best avoided’ due to ongoing internal conflicts.

12:58

Good afternoon

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - AUGUST 15: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speak onstage at EAN University during a visit around Colombia on August 15, 2024 in Bogota, Colombia. (Photo by Diego Cuevas/Getty Images)

Hello and welcome to ‘s live coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s visit to Colombia.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in the Colombian capital Bogota on Thursday for the start of a four-day visit aimed at tackling cyber-bullying and online discrimination as well as promoting women’s leadership in Colombia.

We will bring you the latest news and pictures from the royal couple’s trip in South America plus reaction.

Join the conversation
Key Updates

  • Prince Harry takes veiled swipe at Elon Musk

  • In pictures: Harry and Meghan's first day in Colombia

  • Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Colombia: What happened on day one

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