Harry and Meghan’s four-day tour of Colombia cost the country £45,000, official figures reveal – as senator blasts tour’s ‘wasteful spending’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s four-day tour of Colombia cost the country nearly £45,000, according to official figures from the vice-president who invited them.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit cost a total of Col$244,245,305 (£44,725.14), which included expenditure on security and internal transport throughout the trip.

The figure was released by Colombia’s vice-president Francia Marquez, who organised the trip, following a request by Senator Maria Fernanda Cabal.

Ms Cabal, who is her political opponent, previously branded the quasi-royal tour between August 15 and 18 as ‘showmanship’ and ‘wasteful spending’.

But the vice-president’s office also revealed that Harry and Meghan paid for their own flights and accommodation in Bogota as well as general expenses.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at San Basilio de Palenque in Colombia on August 17

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with students of the La Giralda School in Bogota on August 16

The total cost covered an eight-day period between August 12 and 19 because it also included advance visits from security and logistics staff, reported the Telegraph.

Among the amounts cited was a £7,500 security cost for engagements held in San Basilio de Palenque, which was established as the first free African town in the Americas in 1619.

Another total given was £4,500 for security in Cali, where Meghan and Harry posed for photos and enjoyed live entertainment from a youth organisation.

But Ms Marquez also confirmed there were no payments made by the country for air travel, accommodation or fees to the Sussexes, according to Colombian publication Semana.

The Sussexes were however given a full security detail throughout their visit alongside Ms Marquez, who said she was inspired to ask Harry and Meghan to come after being moved by their Netflix documentary.

The Sussexes with Colombia’s vice-president Francia Marquez at a theatre in Cali on August 18

Ms Marquez also described the Sussexes’ trip as a ‘very special visit’ aimed at building bridges and joining forces against cyber-bullying and online digital violence and discrimination, as well as promoting women’s leadership in Colombia.

Ms Marquez, a lawyer and human rights and environmental activist, is Colombia’s first black vice-president and serves in the country’s first left-wing government, led by president Gustavo Petro.

During their trip, Harry and Meghan visited a local school and joined a summit in collaboration with their Archewell Foundation about creating a healthier digital landscape.

The Sussexes also took part in a forum paying tribute to the contributions of Afro-Colombian women, leaders and entrepreneurs.

And Harry joined in a game of volleyball on a visit to Colombian Invictus Games athletes in Bogota.

Prince Harry and Meghan play the drums at La Boquilla drum school in Cartagena on August 17

Ensuring the couple’s security was a high priority during their stay. The Foreign Office warns against all but essential travel to certain parts of Colombia, with kidnapping rates remaining high.

It also describes the country as ‘seriously afflicted by conflict’ with a resurgence in violence in parts of Colombia despite the peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) movement to end the civil war.

The Duke has meanwhile maintained it is ‘still dangerous’ for Meghan to return to the UK.

Harry lost a High Court challenge against the Home Office in February over a decision to change the level of his personal security when he visits the UK, but he has been given the green light to appeal.

During the case, the court was told Harry believes his children cannot ‘feel at home’ in the UK if it is ‘not possible to keep them safe’ there and that he faces a greater risk than his late mother, with ‘additional layers of racism and extremism’.

Francia Marquez with the Sussexes at the National Centre for the Arts in Bogota on August 15

Harry and Meghan stepped down from the working monarchy in 2020 and no longer travel at the request of the UK Government on official overseas royal visits, when travel costs would have usually been met by the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant.

£45k for a royal visit—good use of money?

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The quasi-royal tour, which has many similarities to the programme of an official royal overseas visit, was the Sussexes’ second this year, after their three-day visit to Nigeria in May at the invitation of the West African nation’s chief of defence staff.

Harper’s Bazaar magazine covered the trip as the only words pool.