Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met with students during their Colombia tour for a session on the digital landscape and its impact on society.
According to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s press office, the couple visited a local charter school, Colegio Cultura Popular, where the class discussed “their favorite and least favorite aspects of social media, technology and life online.”
Duchess Meghan said the group was incredibly “impressive, smart and accomplished” and stressed the importance of them striving to be “self-reliant and not dependent on technology”.
She said research by her own organization, Archewell, found that globally, the average person checks their social media 42 times a day, but in Latin America the average is much higher, at 67 times a day.
Her office said in a bulletin on Thursday that the tour began at approximately 9 a.m. local time in Bogota and that the couple were given a “warm welcome to Colombia” by Vice President Francia Márquez and her partner Rafael Yerney Pinillo.
The two couples had breakfast with coffee, tea and traditional bread of goodness (Colombian cheese bread) before gifts are exchanged.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Colombia’s Vice President Francia Marquez embrace in Bogota, Colombia on August 15, 2024.
Eric Charbonneau/Archewell/Handout via Reuters
Prince Harry, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Colombia’s Vice President Francia Marquez and her partner Rafael Yerney Pinillo pose for a photograph in Bogota, Colombia on August 15, 2024.
Vice Presidency in Colombia/Handout via Reuters
The couple spent half an hour in the Vice President’s office. Harry wore a suit without a tie, while Meghan wore a sleeveless pantsuit.
The bulletin said Marquez “expressed her gratitude for the couple’s official visit. The vice president said she felt she and the Sussexes share the same ideals and goals when it comes to working towards a better, safer digital future and better mental health for our children and the world.”
The trip ends on Sunday after visits to Cartagena and Cali, where Harry will meet members of Team Colombia Invictus Games.
For security reasons, the couple’s detailed itinerary was not published.
Harry’s chief of staff, Josh Kettler, quit his job with Harry and Meghan just days before the tour began. A source told The Daily Beast the decision was mutual. A source told The Daily Beast the decision was mutual. Daily Mail Thursday: “Josh soon realized that the job wasn’t for him. There were aspects he wasn’t comfortable with. He thought it was better to leave now than to continue in a job he didn’t enjoy.”
