Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are being "used" by the Colombian vice president as they embark on their latest international tour, it has been claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex accepted an invitation from Francia Márquez after their controversial visit to Nigeria, where they helped promote Harry's Invictus Games.
On their four-day tour of the South American region, Harry and Meghan are expected to highlight the issue of online harms for children, also spending time with notable leaders and women's rights activists.
Discussing the trip on GB News, royal author Ingrid Seward praised Márquez for her "clever" move in inviting the royal couple to promote her country.
Harry and Meghan have been invited to Colombia by Vice President Francia Márquez
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Detailing her verdict on the tour, Seward told GB News: "I really do think it is done with good intentions. The vice president of Colombia is the first Afro-Colombian to be in a governmental position.
"She invited them because she wanted to bring attention to equality, racism, gender issues, all the things that the Sussexes claim to be interested in promoting."
Adding that the decision "made sense" for Márquez, Seward hailed the vice president for her "clever" way of "using" the royal couple for Colombia's benefit.
Seward explained: "It's hugely beneficial for bringing attention to what's going on in Colombia. People just think of Colombia as a country of drug cartels and rioting and rebels. But it is also the most beautiful country.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to embark on a four-day tour of the South American country
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"I think it was very clever of Márquez to invite the Sussexes."
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Defending the Duke and Duchess following backlash over Harry's decision not to return to the UK for his uncle Lord Fellowes's funeral, Seward stressed that their latest trip is a "good thing" for the Sussex brand and is "not a royal tour".
She said: "Of course, they're being used to promote the country, but in a way it's probably symbiotic.
"They're probably getting a bit of use out of it as well. So I think it's probably a quite a good thing.
"It's not a royal tour, it's nothing to do with royalty. And this is rather sadly, what the Queen hoped they might do for her in the Commonwealth, but it was not to be."
Ingrid Seward says Meghan and Harry are 'being used' by the Colombian Vice President
GB News
Highlighting the criticism of the royal couple for their trip to South America despite their continued security concerns for the UK, Seward assured that Harry and Meghan will be heavily guarded during their four-day trip.
Seward stressed: "It's up to them what they do, but they'll be surrounded with security in Colombia."
During their Colombian trip, Harry and Meghan are expected to attend the Petronio Alvarez Festival in the city of Cali.
The itinerary is also set to include a visit to San Basilio de Palenque, a town founded by runaway slaves that became the first "free town" of South America.