Prince Harry is already looking “wary” on the first day of his and Meghan Markle’s Colombia tour, a body language expert has said.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had touched down in the Colombian capital of Bogota on Thursday, where they were greeted by the country’s Vice President Francia Marquez – who revealed she had invited the couple after watching their controversial Netflix documentary.
The pair stepped out at a school in Bogota, and were later treated to a performance by a traditional local dance troupe where dancers donned feathers, bells and brightly-coloured costumes to show off some of Colombia’s folklore.
The couple have been heavily guarded while they made the rounds on their first day of public appearances, with armed police, security staff and motorbike-riding personnel flanking the Sussexes around the city.
The Sussexes were treated to a performance by a traditional local dance troupe
Reuters
Dancers donned feathers, bells and brightly-coloured costumes to show off some of Colombia’s folklore
Reuters
But that hasn’t stopped Prince Harry looking “wary”, according to body language expert Judi James.
She told the Daily Mirror that the prince, 39, harboured a “tempered and complex” facial expression as he walked through the streets of the crime-addled capital city.
James added that despite forming a “polite smile”, Harry’s eye expression “looks almost wary – which could be natural given that he is a royal without the kind of protocols and even safety nets the Firm will have when they are on proper royal tours.”
The Sussexes – thanks to their split with the Royal Family back in the UK – do not receive official Foreign Office guidance in the way that any officially-employed royals would abroad.
MORE ON HARRY AND MEGHAN:
Harry’s eye expression “looks almost wary”, Judi James said
Reuters
And the British representative to the UN had told a meeting of the organisation’s Security Council as recently as last month that concerns remained over “persistent levels of violence and threats” in parts of Colombia.
One source, familiar with the work of the Foreign Office, lambasted the trip as “utterly irrelevant” to British interests abroad, while a journalist posted in the region said most Colombians had “little interest in the British Royal family and may not even know who the couple are”, the Telegraph reported.
But some in Colombia have made bombastic claims about the motives behind their vice-presidential invitation, with one Bogota lawyer telling the Daily Mail: “I’m sure Meghan and Harry mean well, but everyone here is talking about how obviously they are being manipulated.
“The government has been drowning in scandal since it came in two years ago… They need something to appease people at home and make them look good abroad.”
One source familiar with the work of the Foreign Office lambasted the trip as “utterly irrelevant” to British interests abroad
PA
Colombia’s VP said she had invited the couple after watching their controversial Netflix documentary
Reuters
The couple’s choice of tours has raised eyebrows over security concerns – not least in the wake of Harry’s claims that he would not bring Meghan back to the UK over safety fears in his country of birth.
And royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told The Royal Record that the prince’s belief that Britain was dangerous “appears hypocritical” when contrasted to his tours to Nigeria and Colombia.
Fitzwilliams said: “The facts simply are that both countries are considered somewhat dangerous… certainly parts of them.”
And the BBC’s former royal correspondent Michael Cole told GB News that Harry would benefit from “having the expertise of Buckingham Palace” when travelling abroad.
Cole drew attention to the “careful consideration and research” taken by organisers at the palace and Foreign Office when posting working royals on trips around the world –
