S Poddar
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are gearing up for a new chapter, according to many, that could be a significant move in their ongoing rift with the Royal Family. The couple, who infamously turned their backs on their royal duties four years ago, have this week announced that they will be hitting the road this April for a tour of Colombia. The announcement has stirred intrigue and speculation, more particularly at a time when tensions had surrounded their quitting royal life.
In a 2020 shocking announcement, Harry and Meghan stated they would step back from their royal duties because they need privacy and to bring up their infant son Archie outside the flashing cameras of the British media. For many people, it marked a bold bid for independence, but it also was the opening salvo in a highly publicized feud with the Royal Family.
In a twist of events, however, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to come out of enforced limelight with plans for a tour of Colombia later in the year. This will be their second tour as non-working royals, following up on the successful visit to Nigeria in May, informed by Meghan’s discovery of her Nigerian heritage.
However, this has not been controversy-free. Some insiders at the palace are worried that the trips, other than being a potential harm to the working royals in their activities, raise more tension in an already tense relationship with the royal family, but Harry and Meghan are not concerned. According to sources close to them, this trip is all part of a plan to rebrand the couple in the public eye.
The Colombian tour itinerary shall take the duo to the capital city of Bogotá, where they shall visit different parts of that country’s coastal regions; there will be a critical-cultural exchange, with key discussions around subjects such as cyberbullying, online exploitation, and mental health—issues very close to the couple’s Archewell Foundation. The duo has received an invitation from Colombia’s Vice President and Minister for Equality and Equity, Francia Marquez, with the objective of placing before the world the rich heritage that country holds and its potential for acting as a torchbearer of culture and innovation.
Details of the tour remain under wraps but it’s said that Meghan sees this as an opportunity to reclaim her public image. Insiders say she wants to prove herself to the world and to show the Royal Family what they’ve lost by stepping down from their official duties. “Meghan sees this tour as her chance to shine,” revealed a source. “She knows she has a special connection that gives her an extraordinary capacity in being able to connect with people, and she’s going all-out to exploit that effectively.”
However, the safety of the journey is a matter of concern. Colombia has a history of high crime rate, civil unrest, and terror attacks, fora which even the UK and US governments have issued travel warnings to visit those areas. Still, Prince Harry and Meghan will be given full security protection during their stay. an ironical situation, as Harry put forth his concerns about security in the UK.
The couple would be very excited about the tour, those close to them said, as it is indeed a way to make a case that they still matter and none of their work for various causes is over. This tour will be special for Meghan. “She feels this is the ultimate way to show what she can do,” says an insider. “She was severely frustrated at having lost the chance to represent the Royal Family in tours and now she’s taken the matter into her own hands.”
This will also be after Meghan is expected to release her new lifestyle line of products called American Riviera Orchard, designed with a wide range of home and lifestyle products. This project is said to be linked with a Netflix documentary on the origin story of the brand and the vision Meghan has for it.
The couple recently emerged for an interview over their three years of marriage. In her CBS interview, they shared their inspiration for The Parents Network, a social media platform to help parents navigate the struggle with social media and children. Meghan also shared her personal struggle with mental health; the need for candid discussions of pain and trauma was essential in the process of healing.
As the Sussexes prepare for their Colombian tour, all eyes will be on them, she observes. Whether perceived as a straw of calculated attention-seeking or as a supposedly genuine bid to make a difference, what it really is, Meghan and Harry are at it again, as this time they are going to create waves on their own terms. Their tour is bound to capture global attention and, if successful, it will also mark a point in their post-royal life.
