ROYALSMeghan Markle and Prince Harry's Plan to Take on More International Opportunities After Their Colombia Trip Is a 'Dig at the Royal Family'
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were invited to Colombia by the nation's vice president.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry recently wrapped their four-day tour of Colombia, but the success of their South American trip and their time in Nigeria could open the door for more international opportunities.
The Sussexes were invited to Colombia by Vice President Francia Márquez to discuss digital safety, though the trip received pushback from royal experts.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are building a life for themselves in the U.S.
"[The trip] was very carefully thought out from beginning to end. For instance, there were was reporter photographers chosen," royal commentator Ingrid Seward told an outlet. "It was all very, very tight — and so there was no chance of anything going wrong."
"Most of the things they went to, and the few people that they met, had really no idea why they were there," she continued. "What I went away with was the feeling of why were they there? What were they doing?"
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were given security while in Colombia.
"And the only answer one can come up with is that they were promoting their own brand," Seward stated. "It does look as if it's a dig at the royal family. Apparently, when they were there they never met the ordinary man in the street at all. They were kept miles away from anyone."
In 2023, the Sussexes were branded as "grifters" by a Spotify executive, and the pair has spent the past several months rebuilding their public image.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expected to take on more international opportunities.
While in Colombia, the couple received security personnel — which is a privilege Harry is fighting to have in the U.K.
"The security was absolutely tremendous. So unless people had been picked to meet them, nobody even saw them or didn't even know why they were there," Seward noted. "The only reason they knew they were there was because all the roads were closed."
"So from that point of view I would think it was quite a strange thing to do — just to go to a country, be completely surrounded by security and talk to really, ostensibly very few people say," she continued. "It was all very stage-managed, as everything with the Sussexes is. I think everything was very, very carefully constructed."
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A source claimed Meghan Markle's time in Colombia showed her global influence.
As OK! previously reported, a source claimed the former actress viewed her time in Colombia as a way to show her global influence.
"Meghan sees this Colombia tour as her chance to prove to the world what a big star she is and how much the royal family misses her," the source told an outlet. "Doing events like this was the one thing about royal life that appealed to her. She was furious when that was taken away because she knows she's such an asset."
"She feels her and Harry together really shine when meeting dignitaries and locals, and it helps with the brand and their plan to be the alternative royal family," the source said. "Meghan knows that nobody in the royal family can put on a show like her and Harry."
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When the Sussexes first left the U.K., they shared they were building a "progressive new role" within The Firm, but their decision to relocate to North America resulted in them being pushed out of the monarchy all together.
"When they left, they asked that they could still represent the family on tours but were told no, so she feels it's the ultimate revenge as they were both so upset when they were rejected," the insider claimed.
The Sun spoke to Seward.
