Harry & Meghan Columbian tour: Gushing greetings as royals visit Bogota

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex began their Colombian tour on Thursday – invited by a vice president inspired by their derided Netflix documentary.

Francia Marquez declared she was a fan of the six-part series, Harry & Meghan, in which the pair criticised the Royal Family.

The country’s first black, female VP said: “I learned their story through Netflix and I was moved by it. Meghan is a woman who deserves to come to the country and tell her story.”

She was speaking at the presidential palace in Bogota as the couple arrived in the capital at the start of their four-day visit.

The duchess put on a stylish display in a £596, sleeveless collared vest and £349 matching trousers from US label Veronica Beard.

She teamed this with black Manolo Blahnik heels and a cream £3,775 bag from Italian brand Loro Piana.

A Lorraine Schwartz “Against Evil Eye” bracelet, costing about £15,000 added extra sparkle. Later, Meghan changed into a colourful printed dress with a thigh-high split and cut-out to watch a show by folk dancers at Bogota’s Delia Zapata National Centre for the Arts.

Harry admired the costumes, which included colourful animal headdresses, many feathered. Ms Marquez said she had wanted Meghan to come alone last year to a meeting of women of African descent to “share her experiences”.

The duchess said she could not make it but “wanted to get to know the country’”

Others have suggested a more cynical motive for the invitation with some claiming their “star power’” is being “manipulated” by a government “drowning in scandal”.

But Ms Marquez invoked Princess Diana, who was due to visit Colombia just before she died in 1997.

She said: “I think Prince Harry being here today after that dream of his mum’s of visiting this country is an opportunity to show the best of our nation. We are people who in the midst of adversity do everything possible to give the best of ourselves.”

Another reason for the visit was to ‘build bridges and open doors’ to tackle cyberbullying and discrimination online, particularly for young people.

Ms Marquez accompanied Harry and Meghan on a visit to city centre school Centro Nacional Cultura Popular, where headmaster Leonel Umana said the couple was interested in an anti-cyberbullying project.

The Sussexes chatted with a group of 20 pupils aged 12 to 18.

Although there was a translator on hand, Meghan spoke Spanish.

Mr Umana said: ‘She speaks Spanish well. “At first we were told that there were to be no mobile phones or pictures due to protocol. But... they broke protocol and posed for pictures with the kids.”

Earlier Ms Marquez spoke about the need to combat cyberbullying, saying she was the victim of more than 12,000 racist comments on social media last year.

“I think I have told the story, the history of racism and racial discrimination from when I was a child,” she said.

“For women today... involved in politics in the world, we are exposed to a level of violence on social networks that affects our wellbeing (and) our dignity.”

Later the vice president formally welcomed the Sussexes at her official residence where they exchanged gifts over coffee, tea and traditional pan de bono – Colombian cheese bread.

Over the four days, the Sussexes will tour Bogota then the port city of Cartagena for the “cultural and social” visit. Harry will also meet members of the Colombia squad training for next year’s Invictus Games.

The Sussexes’ quasi-royal tour follows a similar visit to Nigeria in May. This trip also promises to be tightly controlled, with most events accessible only to favoured journalists.

The Meghan-approved journalist accompanying the couple works for US magazine Harper’s Bazaar, which yesterday fawned that the duchess arrived “radiating warm California energy”.

Colombia is beset by political turmoil with the president, Gustavo Petro, accusing a commander of rebel forces of paying to have him killed by snipers.

The country’s first Left-wing president, he faces criticism for promised reforms that he has been unable to deliver. The UK and US warn tourists against travelling to some parts of the country because of violence.