Why do the videos of the Sussexes’ fake royal tour to Colombia have no sound?

Normally, royal walks are a cheerful affair, with hands being shaken, bouquets being presented and, above all, many pleasantries being exchanged.

Since the late Queen decided to face the crowd instead of waving from a passing car, they have become an essential part of our country.

But Harry and Meghan do things differently. As their stay in Colombia showed, they prefer to have as little interaction with the public as possible.

And it seems that when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex rarely meet ordinary people, they make sure their conversations are not overheard.

Their tour, which looked like a kind of royal spectacle, was so strictly controlled that the images of these all-too-brief encounters were released to the media without sound.

Prince Harry and Meghan arrive in San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia on Saturday, August 17

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry visit Cartagena, Colombia on August 17

For example, it would have been instructive to hear what the couple said to students during a visit to a school in Bogota on the first day of their tour. Instead, the video only showed their lips moving.

The following day was more of the same as Harry played sit-down volleyball with Invictus Games athletes in the capital. How different from an almost identical event three months earlier in Nigeria, when reporters were privy to the Duke’s every word.

And it would have been nice to hear the couple celebrate African culture during their visit to Palenque de San Basilio, a village founded four centuries ago by former slaves.

The Sussexes’ silent films didn’t exactly mesh with Meghan’s sermons on self-expression during a forum on “Afro Women and Power” on the final day of the tour.

Never mind. Now that they have stepped down from their royal duties four years ago, they may feel that the normal rules do not apply.

The reasons for this lack of transparency are not immediately clear. While the Duke and Duchess are prone to airing their dirty laundry in public – think of the revealing interview with Oprah Winfrey and Harry’s revealing memoir – they are not in the habit of spilling state secrets to benefactors.

However, during this tour it was clear that they wanted to ensure that their activities were monitored as little as possible by outsiders.

To achieve this goal, they selected a trusted magazine writer to accompany them and provide invariably flattering accounts of their activities to the rest of the media. At most, the media got an occasional glimpse of the runaway royals.

The tour was organized by Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation and the Colombian vice president’s team.

Francia Marquez is the first black woman to hold the position. In one of the few speeches with sound, Meghan called her “my friend.”

Information about the trip was posted daily on WhatsApp by the VP’s office. But several journalists whose reporting caused displeasure were unceremoniously removed from the group.

Others were reprimanded for daring to ask questions – even though they were answered openly – of a headmaster whose school the Sussexes attended in Cartagena.

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan with Colombian Vice President Francia Marquez and her husband Yernei Pinillo in Bogota on August 15

Colombia’s Vice President Francia Marquez speaks on stage during a forum on digital responsibility at EAN University during a visit on August 15

What the couple, now back home in California, managed to do remains unclear, with critics calling it a publicity stunt for both the Sussexes and Ms Marquez.

In a country where 42 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, questions are already being asked about the costs.

“The security bill will be astronomical and people will not soon forget that,” said an opposition politician.

Many locals had never heard of the couple until they arrived. While the Sussexes experienced local culture and spoke online about cyberbullying and mental health, other, more pressing issues were ignored.

Colombia is struggling with economic and social problems and a high level of crime. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against all but essential travel in much of the country.

Right-wing senator and 2026 presidential candidate Maria Fernanda Cabal said the trip “did not produce any cultural exchange or anything like that.

“It’s part of the showmanship of a vice president who is disconnected from the reality of the country,” she added.