Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are preparing for their forthcoming visit to Colombia, but they’re not the first members of the royal family to visit the South American country.
During their upcoming visit, which marks their second official international tour this year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will visit Bogotá, Cartagena and Cali, PEOPLE previously reported.
Some of those cities also had a royal visitor a decade ago. Harry’s father, King Charles, and Queen Camilla (then known as Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall) paid an official visit to Colombia as part of a larger tour of Latin America in 2014, as they also undertook engagements in both Bogotá and Cartagena.
ABC News reported at the time that Charles and Camilla were the “most senior members of the royal family ever to visit Colombia.”
The King also visited Colombia as a naval officer on HMS Minerva in 1974, according to the BBC.
King Charles and Queen Camilla in Colombia in 2014.
Chris Jackson/Getty
Harry’s aunt Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh was the most recent royal to visit Colombia. In November 2023, she went on a three-day official tour of the nation, where she was received by Vice President Francia Márquez. It was Márquez who announced earlier this month that Meghan and Prince Harry would be visiting Colombia.
Sophie visited Colombia in support of the United Nations’ Women, Peace and Security Agenda, and she undertook engagements in Bogotá and Cali centered around the rights of women and girls and survivors of sexual violence.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.
Jan Kruger/Getty
In a statement, Márquez said of Meghan and Prince Harry’s visit that, in her roles as both vice president and Minister of Equality and Equity, she was “pleased to announce that Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have kindly accepted my invitation to visit our beautiful country.”
She added of their three-stop tour, “In these vibrant locations, they will have the exceptional opportunity to engage with leaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress. (Márquez herself embodies progress as the first Black woman to hold the position of vice president.) “In addition to these meaningful interactions, the Duke and Duchess will experience the rich heritage of Colombia,” she continued.
The visit by Prince Harry and Meghan to Colombia comes just three months after their trip to Nigeria in May. Both Nigeria and Colombia became a part of Prince Harry’s Invictus Games at the same time in 2022, with the latter becoming the first South American country to join the Invictus Games Community of Nations. The country made its debut at the international adaptive sports tournament for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans in Düsseldorf, Germany in September 2023.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Nigeria in May 2024.
KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty
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While in Nigeria earlier this year, Prince Harry hinted at more international trips to come for him and his wife, telling PEOPLE at the time, “It is hugely important for us to meet directly with people, supporting our causes and listening, in order to bring about solutions, support, and positive change.”
He added, “There’s only so much one can do from home or over Zoom, so we look forward to traveling more because the work matters. Whether it’s the Archewell Foundation, Invictus or any of our other causes, there will always be reasons to meet the people at the heart of our work.”
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Publish date : 2024-08-12 08:56:00
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