Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Colombia trip was heavily criticized, but it's part of a winning strategy

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited Colombia at the invitation of Vice President Francia Marquez.
• The trip marked their second international tour of 2024.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wrapped up their latest international trip on Sunday.

The couple went to Colombia at the invitation of the nation's vice president, Francia Márquez, and they spoke at the Responsible Digital Future Summit at Universidad Ean on August 15.

Their visit to Colombia marked their second international tour of the year, following their trip to Nigeria in May.

Harry and Meghan received backlash for both trips in UK tabloids, with some outlets questioning why the couple is going on trips that look a lot like royal tours despite stepping back as working royals in 2020.

But looking back at their time as working royals together and their individual lives highlights that international service trips are nothing unusual for Harry or Meghan.

Representatives for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Harry and Meghan have a long history of international work

Royal watcher Kristen Meinzer told Business Insider that international trips with a service focus aren't new for Harry or Meghan.

As a member of the royal family, Harry spent his entire life accompanying his parents on royal tours, and as an adult he served in the British Army, which also took him around the globe. He is also the founding patron of the Invictus Games, a biennial athletic competition that has been hosted by six countries so far.

Meanwhile, Meghan studied international relations at Northwestern in addition to theater, and she worked with global organizations like World Vision, One Young World, and even the United Nations before she became a royal.

"Before they were even together, they both had a passion for charity and philanthropy and making goodwill visits to other countries," Meinzer said. "It's something that Harry was trained to do his whole life."

"And I think it's interesting that when other people like George Clooney or Beyoncé do the same kind of thing, they aren't raked over the coals," Meinzer said of Harry and Meghan's international advocacy.

As working royals, Harry and Meghan went on multiple royal tours together, where they flexed their ability to connect with communities in other countries.

For instance, Harry said it was "effortless" for Meghan to connect with locals on their 2018 royal tour of Australia, and they both appeared more relaxed during their 2019 tour of Africa compared to other royals on similar trips.

As they revealed in their docuseries "Harry & Meghan," the Duke and Duchess of Sussex hoped they could continue serving as working royals outside the UK by relocating to a commonwealth nation like New Zealand, South Africa, or Canada instead of stepping down in 2020.

"We thought it would be good to give ourselves some breathing space, but also we were really passionate about continuing our work throughout the Commonwealth, to support the Queen," Harry said on the series.

Harry said their 2019 move to South Africa was scrapped after details of the plan were published in The Times. Subsequently, Harry's email proposal to move to Canada was leaked to The Sun in January 2020. A day after the story was published, Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping back as senior royals.

By June 2020, the two had settled in Montecito, California, where they now raise their two children.

These trips aren't designed to promote the Commonwealth, but they do serve a purpose

When they went on international trips together as working royals, Harry and Meghan were ambassadors for the Commonwealth. Today, they promote causes they are passionate about when they visit.

"I think that something else that's a little bit off about the narrative is a lot of the tabloid media is trying to depict them as like, 'Oh, they're just trying to pretend they're still royal,'" Meinzer said. "But they're actually going to these places upon invitation."

For instance, Márquez invited Harry and Meghan to Colombia to discuss how to create a "healthier and more ethical digital landscape," as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared on their website, and they visited Nigeria in May because the country has expressed interest in hosting the Invictus Games.

"They're not doing anything that is inflammatory by accepting invitations to raise the public awareness of certain causes," Meinzer added. "It's just a non-issue."

Despite the tabloid criticism of their international trips, the visits offer a new path for Harry and Meghan, who have struggled to find long-term momentum in their media ventures, as Business Insider previously reported.

Indeed, Evan Nierman, the CEO and founder of the global PR firm Red Banyan, told BI that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's tell-alls about the royal family — from their Netflix series to Harry's memoir "Spare" — don't pack the same punch anymore.

But international diplomacy is Meghan and Harry's bread and butter. Whether the UK tabloid press agrees, leaning into a skillset and a passion they both have is the right move for them.

Correction: August 29, 2024 — An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Prince Harry's military service. He served in the British Army, not the Royal Air Force. The story was also updated to clarify that the Invictus Games are held biennially, not yearly.