Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Have Reinvented the Royal Tour
In between the dancing and cultural experiences in Colombia, the duke and duchess sat for some real talk that emphasized the global nature of the issues they’re quickly becoming experts in.
pre-royal days, when she spoke about her stint working at the US embassy in Buenos Aires. But it wasn’t until this weekend, during her four-day tour of Colombia with Prince Harry, that the public saw those skills at work. At a Sunday panel in Cali, the country’s third largest city, Meghan delivered remarks in Spanish at an event aimed at uplifting the nation’s Afro-Caribbean women.
“Because we are in your country my husband and I can feel this embrace from Colombia—it’s incredible,” she said. “The culture, the history—all of it was a dream— this trip was a dream. I can feel this community and this is the feeling that is the best thing right now.” Later that day, she even served as translator for Harry as the pair spoke to concertgoers at the Petronio Alvarez Pacific Music Festival.
The duchess connected earnestly with a group of regular people in a country other royals might not have been able to visit, at least not in an official capacity, and the scenes were a reminder of what the Windsors are missing now that she and Harry have set up their own court in Santa Barbara. Still, it’s hard to get the images of their days as representatives of Queen Elizabeth II off our minds, and that might be why their recent international travels—including a February trip to Whistler, Canada and a May tour of Nigeria—have felt so familiar.
These recent trips were made at the invitation of government officials, but, as the British media is quick to point out, they are not “official royal tours.” Even though there isn’t a cut-and-dry definition of an official tour, it generally refers to the fact that when working royals travel on the public purse, they are often representing the head of state at the request of the Foreign Office. The traditional royal tour is about diplomacy—managing relationships with the heads of other countries.
