When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex agreed to do a tour of Colombia, they were hoping it would be a runaway success and would help confirm their status as the world's "alternative royal family".
However, the four-day trip failed to create the glowing reception that Harry, 39, and Meghan, 43, wanted and instead there was a huge backlash against their visit. As well as being accused of costing the poverty-stricken nation £1.5 million in security expenses, many people felt they were trying to outdo Harry's family by mimicking an official royal tour, despite them quitting their roles in the royal family more than four years ago.
The Colombia trip came three months after they were accused of staging a faux royal three-day tour of Nigeria and commenters on social media say they can't have the best of both worlds.
"They quit the royals, so why are they trying to do official visits and take attention away from the real royals?" one asked, while another said, "Meghan and Harry want to have their cake and eat it, but they need to decide if they want to be Hollywood stars or royalty you can't be both." Although they are back home in California now with their two children Archie, five, and three-year-old Lilibet - the couple faced more criticism from Colombian official Andres Escobar who claimed they were only invited by the country's vice president Francia Márquez "because she saw them on Netflix". He said it was unfair on all Colombians that they had to pay so much money to have Harry and Meghan visit.
This story is from the September 02, 2024 edition of New UK.
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This story is from the September 02, 2024 edition of New UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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