It's the SUSSEX CIRCUS

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will probably have hailed their recent ‘royal tour’ of Colombia as an amazing success.

- Emily Andrews

After all, the pictures (tightly controlled by hand-picked journalists, naturally) looked great, Harry spouted some ‘impactful’ word salad about making social media safer, and Meghan dazzled in thousands of dollars’ worth of clothes over a whirlwind 10 outfit changes.

But what was their four-day trip really about?

I struggled to tell, along with many Colombians who were furious at having to pick up the hefty bill for the Sussex stardust that was sprinkled over the South American country.

Certainly, the question on everyone’s lips at Buckingham Palace was, ‘Why did they go?’

The Sussexes and their spotlight were not there on behalf of the British government. They are not working members of the Royal Family, they weren’t representing a particular charity (aside from their own non-profit organisation, The Archewell Foundation), and nor do they have any public history or heritage in the country.

When they visited Nigeria in May, the focus was the Invictus Games, Harry’s Paralympics-style tournament for sick and injured service personnel and veterans.

And although they did make a visit to some of the Colombian Invictus participants, it was made very clear that the focus was on one person and one person alone. You’ll never guess who...

Even before the Sussexes landed, Colombia’s vice president, Francia Márquez, announced she had personally invited Meghan to visit after watching her and Harry’s Netflix whinge-fest about their life in the Royal Family.

‘This is a woman who deserves to come to our country and tell her story. This exchange will undoubtedly empower so many women in the world,’ she said.

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