Prince Harry and Meghan arrive in Colombia after vice president is ‘moved’ by Netflix documentary | US News

Prince Harry and Meghan have landed in Colombia for their second major foreign tour outside the royal family.

The Duke And Duchess of Sussex were welcomed by Vice President Francia Marquez at her private residence after she invited them for a four-day visit.

It is hoped the visit will showcase the country’s cultural heritage, but also highlight the couple’s personal priorities, such as the impact of the digital world on young people, celebrating the military community and empowering women.

Before the visit, the vice president described how he saw the visit their Netflix documentary about leaving the Royal family had inspired her to send out the invitation.

She said: “(The documentary) touched 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.”

They will spend their first day in the capital, Bogota, visiting a school to meet teenagers in a session on online safety, attending a cultural showcase and attending a summit led by Ms Marquez, which will look at the urgent need to address the harmful aspects of technology and digital platforms.

Their decision to travel there has drawn attention mainly because of the security concerns.

The US travel advisory for Colombia is at Level 3, urging people to ‘reconsider their trip’, but the couple say they currently do not believe it is safe 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 that in addition to their private team, they also get local security in Colombia, but only because they are invited. That is what makes it different from Harry’s personal trips to the UK, where he does not get security.

He said: “It’s not a place where you would just go and think, ‘Yes, it’s ideal’, but you can go there. You have to do a lot more because of the nature of the environment and the current threat and risk in relation to Colombia, not just because of the drug cartels but also because of the far-left terrorists that are there.

“Because (those groups) will ultimately use this opportunity to further embarrass the government, to cause destabilisation… And it’s an ideal opportunity because the Sussexes going to Colombia will be a world event, it will bring attention to it and it will shine a light on the cartels and the far-left terrorist cause.”

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In February, Prince Harry lost a High Court case over the decision to reduce security at his home after he left the royal family and moved abroad.

But later he was given the right to appeal.

In May, he travelled to London without Meghan and is reportedly not set to return to the UK this summer for the funeral of his uncle Sir Robert Fellowes.

Mr Morgan says it is an incredibly complex issue, both emotionally and financially.

He said: “It’s always going to be a sensitive issue because the Duke himself is used to 24-hour protection. He’s grown up with that. We always say the Royal Family provides protection from cradle to grave.

“He values ​​the continuity of that team and the access to all the other resources around the world that you would get if you were a protected director in the UK.

“It’s a very emotional issue and it’s an emotional issue on both sides. Not just the Sussexes themselves, but the police officers who would ultimately have to travel with them. It’s also going to be a logistical issue for the Met Police, because officers are based outside the UK.

“And then it also becomes a legal issue whether they have the legal right to carry weapons, to use force. So it’s a very complex issue.”

During the recent ITV documentary Tabloids On Trial, Prince Harry said it was “still dangerous” for Meghan to return to the UK.

He added: “All it takes is one actor, one person reading this to act on what they’ve read and whether it’s a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that genuinely concern me. It’s one of the reasons why I’m not taking my wife back to this country.”