The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have come under fire after their four-day quasi-royal tour to one of the most dangerous South American countries that cost Colombian taxpayers millions of dollars.

Invited by the country’s Vice-President, Francia Marquez – who has survived her own assassination attempts – Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan Markle, 43, were surrounded by a convoy of security as they travelled to Bogota, Cartagena and Cali last weekend.

In a post since taken down by one of Colombia’s news website, CW Noticias, multiple outlets reported that 3000 police and soldiers, helicopters, sniffer dogs and bomb disposal units were deployed to the Sussexes entourage, costing eight billion pesos ($3 million).

The heavy government-backed security operation wasn’t the only eyebrow raiser.

Harry and Meghan quit the royal family in 2020 and moved to the US to escape the tabloid press and a desire for privacy.

But royal watchers questioned everything from how this trip looked every bit like a royal tour of a country where they could promote charity work, right down to Meghan’s designer fashion parade, complete with Jimmy Choo shoes and Cartier jewellery.

The couple’s experienced chief-of-staff  Josh Kettler left his job on the eve of the tour. Days later, fashion and lifestyle magazine Harper’s Bazaar announced it was “the exclusive outlet on the ground” to cover the tour in Colombia.

On social media platforms such as X, TikTok and Instagram, we got a daily serve. We saw the couple dance the salsa, cuddle schoolchildren, and speak to activists and experts about the impact of social media on young people.

“As Bazaar followed the couple from one engagement to the next, Meghan’s style never missed, from sophisticated sets to breezy dresses that mixed business casual with beachy coolness,” reported HB‘s newly crowned royal correspondent.

“Excited screams broke out from teens and teachers alike as the couple toured the school’s grounds and made an appearance at recess. Each appearance, of course, also supplied a fresh peek at the duchess’s latest ensembles.”

“You’re joking,” wrote one of HB‘s 5.6 million followers. “What a puff piece.”

“Why don’t they just be regular tourists? They are not royalty. Stop pretending. Cringe,” wrote another.

“A fashion magazine covering Meghan’s fashion while she hugs disadvantaged children in a poverty-stricken, corrupt and violent country. The world has gone mad.”

Control

Covering the tour for the BBC, South American political correspondent, Ione Wells, confirmed the Sussexes and the government officials allowed only their own videographers and photographers into most events.

Wells said it was to make sure events were represented “accurately”.

She said video footage was released daily, with no sound, and the HB fashion reporter was the only one who released daily updates to the media about what the Sussexes were doing, copying in their spokespeople and publicity team.

“The BBC chose not to rely on this material alone, as we could not be present to verify what was said and described, but we were able to attend the summit and watch some events from the sidelines,” she wrote.

An opinion pieced published in US political newspaper The Hill made it clear that without the assistance of UK government officials and palace staffers, Harry and Meghan “were naively playing checkers in a dangerous world of superpower 3D chess”.

“Vexingly, this is par for the course,” it said.

“They did it in Nigeria and in Jamaica.

“Selling luxury jams, dog biscuits and hosting a cooking show are all perfectly fine under the guise of Meghan’s American Riviera Orchard Brand.

“But using countries such as Colombia as marketing backdrops and as tools to upstage the royal family (they had retreated en masse to Balmoral for the summer break) is decidedly not fine – especially given the far-reaching and ongoing global implications to UK and US national security.”

Harry at a meet-and-greet, but reportedly many in Colombia did not recognise the couple. Photo: Getty

As the fallout from Harry and Meghan’s third international trip this year lingers, London’s Express newspaper reported that one Cali councillor took to X to retweet the now-deleted security cost report by CW Noticias .

“We continue with an ancient practice: Handing over our resources in exchange for smoke and mirrors,” he wrote.

“Billions that could have been used to expand coverage of children’s soup kitchens, pay salaries for community mothers, seed capital for Afro communities or adapt sports venues that are practically in ruins.”

He accused the Sussexes’ host, Marquez, of “wasting public money on her vanity” and “spending our taxes on ‘rich white people’ for photo opportunities and social media”.