Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will travel to Colombia for a national tour later this year at the invitation of the country’s Vice President, Francia Márquez. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will visit the South American state to “engage with leaders, youth and women” and to “experience the rich heritage of Colombia.”
The trip, which is scheduled for an undisclosed date, will precede the inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children. Harry and Meghan are set to focus on activities regarding the mental health impact of cyberbullying and online exploitation.
Márquez said 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.”
“During their trip, the Duke and Duchess will join me in visiting Bogotá, as well as the Caribbean and Pacific regions of Cartagena and Cali. In these vibrant locations,” added the vice president, “they will have the exceptional opportunity to engage with leaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress. In addition to these meaningful interactions, the Duke and Duchess will experience the rich heritage of Colombia.”
With reference to the mental health focus of the trip and the subsequent conference, Márquez praised Prince Harry and Meghan’s work with the Archewell Foundation, which she said was “renowned for its global leadership in fostering a safer online environment.”
The vice president concluded: “We are confident that their visit will further illuminate Colombia’s role as a beacon of culture and innovation.”
In an upcoming interview with CBS, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will outline their commitment to promoting online safety for children.
“Our kids are young, they’re three and five, they’re amazing,” said Meghan Markle in a trailer for the show. “But all you want to do as parents is protect them, and so as we can see what’s happening in the online space, we know that there’s a lot of work to be done there, we’re just happy to be a part of change for good.”
Prince Harry, too, stressed the importance of helping parents to understand the dangers of cyberbullying and how best to protect their own children from the mental health impacts of online exploitation.
“We’ve got the stage where at this point almost every parent needs to be a first responder,” said the prince, “and even the best first responders in the world wouldn’t be able to tell the signs of possible suicide. That is the terrifying piece of this.”
No doubt their upcoming trip will play an important part in the Duke and Duchess’ efforts to raise awareness about the issue. The governments of both the United Kingdom and the United States caution citizens against travel to Colombia on security grounds, with the US Department of State imploring nationals to reconsider travel due to “crime and terrorism” and “civil unrest and kidnapping.”
This comes as Prince Harry has revealed he refuses to bring Meghan Markle back to Britain over fears for her safety. In the ITV documentary Tabloids on Trial, the royal father-of-two said that the media retaliation against his legal battle with the tabloids meant that he felt it was too dangerous for the Duchess of Sussex to accompany him on any potential trip back to the UK. “All it takes is one lone actor, one person who read this stuff, to act on what they have read,” Harry explained, “and whether that is a knife or acid…they are genuine concerns for me, they are one of the reasons I won’t bring my wife back to this country.”
In the year Prince Harry moved his family to California, he lost a court battle challenging the Home Office’s decision to no longer offer his family the “same degree” of taxpayer-funded security that they were granted as working royals.
The court was told that the Duke of Sussex believes it impossible for his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to “feel at home” in Britain if a perceived lack of sufficient security makes it impossible to “keep them safe” in the country.
Now, insiders have said whilst Meghan “supports” Prince Harry, she “wishes he could let go” of the lawsuits. Sources speaking to People, “She wants him to be free of all of this, but she also knows that because of everything he’s been through and his love for [her and their children], he can’t. She wants him to live in a world where he is not burdened by this.”
The last few months have been extremely busy for the Duchess of Sussex, with her passion project, American Riviera Orchard believed to be officially launching in the coming months, if not weeks. The Duchess teased fans earlier this year when she started an Instagram page for the business, sending out jars of jam and dog biscuits to her favorite A-list friends. Now, she has finished filming a Netflix series which is believed to be accompanying the launch, although the air date for the project has yet to be revealed.
Meghan Markle will turn 43 on August 4, and, whilst it’s not known how she will be marking the occasion, it seems likely she will be celebrating with Prince Harry and their children Archie and Lilibet.
This article first appeared on Tatler.
The post Meghan Markle Will Accompany Prince Harry to Colombia on an Official Visit to Combat Cyberbullying appeared first on Glamour.
