Although Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have just finished their four-day tour of Colombia, the fact that they were able to achieve success during their trip to South America and during their time in Nigeria may pave the way for other prospects on a global scale.
The trip was met with opposition by royal specialists, despite the fact that Vice President Francia Márquez extended an invitation to the Sussexes to visit Colombia in order to address the safety of digital technology.
"[The trip] was very carefully thought out from beginning to end. For instance, there were was reporter photographers chosen. 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. What I went away with was the feeling of why were they there? What were they doing?" royal commentator Ingrid Seward told The Sun.
"And the only answer one can come up with is that they were promoting their own brand. 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,” Ingrid went on.
According to a Spotify executive, the Sussexes were referred to as "grifters" in the year 2023. Since then, the couple has spent the past few months working to restore their reputation in the public eye. The pair was under the protection of security officers when they were in Colombia; this is a privilege that Harry is working hard to obtain in the United Kingdom.
"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. The only reason they knew they were there was because all the roads were closed,” Ingrid stated.
"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. It was all very stage-managed, as everything with the Sussexes is. I think everything was very, very carefully constructed,” the royal commentator went on.
An earlier article published by OK! Magazine cited an unnamed source who stated that the former actress saw her time spent in Colombia to be an opportunity to demonstrate 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. 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,” the anonymous insider told the entertainment news outlet.
"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. Meghan knows that nobody in the royal family can put on a show like her and Harry,” the undisclosed informant went on.
Upon their initial departure from the United Kingdom, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed that they were in the process of establishing a "progressive new role" within The Firm. However, their decision to travel to North America ultimately led to them being expelled from the monarchy entirely.
"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 tipster stated.
Business Times has reached out to Meghan Markle and Prince for comments.
