Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are "exploiting the gap on the balcony of the depleted Royal Family" with their latest international tour, it has been claimed.
The Duke and Duchess have completed their four-day tour of Colombia in South America after accepting an invite from the country's Vice President.
Attending the Afro Women and Power Forum, Meghan told the panel that her daughter Lilibet, aged three, has "found her voice".
Speaking to GB News, commentator Caroline Aston criticised the royal couple's Colombia trip and said the Sussexes "like to be surrounded by yes people" and have a "revolving door on the staff room at camp Montecito that spins around and ejects people".
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have completed their four-day tour of Colombia in South America
Getty
Aston said: "Just before this much-discussed trip to Colombia, Josh Kettler left after only three months in situ as Harry's grand-sounding Chief of Staff - he was gone even though he'd been with them in Nigeria.
"But really, what you're watching here in Colombia is that old party game called who is using who."
Detailing her argument that Harry and Meghan may have been "used" by the Colombian government during their tour, Aston told GB News: "On the one side you have the Sussexes with their brand tanking, having lost direction.
"And of course Meghan having been given a lot of raspberries, making jam and cooking and trying to reinvent herself as a wholesome mum figure.
Meghan Markle told the Afro Women and Power Forum that daughter Lilibet has 'found her voice'
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"And on the other side, you have the Colombian government, a very unsafe place with a danger warning on it, yet somehow much safer for the security-conscious Sussexes to go and visit. So we have two groups each hoping to ride on the back of the other."
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Echoing Aston's thoughts, host Patrick Christys argued that the Duke and Duchess could have "done all of this from within the Royal Family", had they not stepped down as working members.
Aston agreed, responding: "Don't forget, if we go right back to Megxit, they wanted to be half out, half in. When you wear tiaras and uniforms, there's good photo opportunities there that would enhance a brand they were hoping to build in royalty-fascinated America.
"And ever since then, there's been a kind of huge case of sour grapes, we're going to go our own way. I think they might just be exploiting the gap on the balcony of the depleted Royal Family.
"They know that the numbers are down - what an ideal time to get out there and show the world how they could have done the job."
Caroline Aston says Harry and Meghan are 'exploiting the gap on the royal balcony' with their international tours
GB News
Patrick offered his verdict on the tour, and claimed that particularly for Meghan, it was "really emphasising the kind of thing she might have been able to offer to the Royal Family on the world stage."
Meghan Markle also paid tribute to her mother, Doria Ragland, during her tour of Colombia.
Speaking at the same summit where she praised daughter Lilibet, Meghan told the crowd: "I find inspiration in so many of the strong women around me. My mother being one of them. Life is full of surprises and can be quite complex.
"So much of how I approach things is about less of the fight and how do we wash things over with love and kindness and generosity."
GB News has approached the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.