The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s tours this year have been hugely successful. Their multi-day trip to Canada was focused on the Invictus Games and honoring First Nations and the larger Whistler community. Their tour of Nigeria was specifically undertaken to highlight Invictus and veterans’ causes, plus it was a celebration of Nigerian culture and, frankly, tourism. The Sussexes’ tour of Colombia was in the same vein, although I think this tour was more based on Meghan and women’s empowerment and racial issues within Colombia. Yes, there were Invictus and veterans events too, but the bulk of the visit was about celebrating Colombian culture, art, race and women.

That still isn’t enough for the Telegraph, which published this completely snide piece at the end of Harry and Meghan’s tour: “More questions than answers over Harry and Meghan’s Colombia visit: The Sussexes’ quasi-royal tour produced a stream of glossy images, but reasons behind it remain a mystery.” This reminds me of Kamala Harris releasing a detailed plan to decrease grocery prices and it was called “gimmicky,” meanwhile Donald Trump stood by rotting groceries and ranted about Hillary Clinton and no one said anything. Like… the Telegraph is so clearly mad that Harry & Meghan’s quasi-royal tours are better and more substantive than the neo-colonialist dumbf–kery that passes for the Windsors’ “royal tours.” But Harry and Meghan are held to a different standard, apparently.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s four-day quasi-royal tour of Colombia generated a stream of glossy images, along with gushing reports of locals cheering and children dancing. But as the couple head back home to California, questions remain about why they chose to visit this troubled Latin American country and what exactly they managed to achieve. There were woolly statements about “uplifting communities” and “showcasing the nation’s heritage”. But why Colombia and why now? Many feel as baffled today as they did before the couple set foot in Bogota.

Part of the answer may lay in the fact that the entire trip was carefully filtered through their own PR lens. Unlike a traditional royal tour of old, the media were not invited, save for one handpicked reporter whose job it was to relay each event to newspapers and other outlets across the world. The chosen journalist was an online reporter from US publication Harper’s Bazaar, who duly filed a brief overview of each engagement. As the Sussexes had no doubt intended, it was a saccharine-sweet account that took a broad brush approach to detail.

There were very few quotes from anybody, forcing media organisations keen to present a full account scratching around for snippets of video and local accounts published online in an attempt to piece it all together. With no access, there is no independent scrutiny.

The couple, now operating as private individuals no longer reliant on public funds, can do as they please. It was part of the reason they turned their backs on the royal household and its many constraints, after all. But by throwing a veil over the tour, they have simply thrown up more questions than answers.

[From The Telegraph]

Completely unhinged: “There were very few quotes from anybody, forcing media organisations keen to present a full account scratching around for snippets of video and local accounts published online in an attempt to piece it all together.” You mean that two private people traveled to Colombia after being invited by the vice president, and the British media barged into the country, demanding access to events and they were forced to… do their jobs as journalists instead of being spoon-fed briefings from a royal comms secretary? “With no access, there is no independent scrutiny.” And? Do you think Harry and Meghan are public servants? Were they elected to public office? Where’s this smoke for Charles, Camilla, William, Kate, Sophie and Edward as they constantly make asses out of themselves internationally with very little in the way of “independent scrutiny.”

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.