They might be in Latin America, but one of the highlights of Harry and Meghan’s latest quasi-royal tour will be a visit to a place called a ‘little corner of Africa’.
Founded by former slaves four centuries ago in the jungles of Colombia, the walled community of Palenque de San Basilio near the historic city of Cartagena became the first free town in the Americas.
To the Sussexes, ever keen to investigate colonialism and its legacies, the oldest African-American settlement in the New World holds an irresistible draw.
Most of today’s 3,500 inhabitants are direct descendants of slaves and have preserved many of their African customs, including their own language, Palenquero, strongly influenced by the Kikongo language of Congo and Angola.
The Duke and Duchess will visit San Basilio on Saturday after beginning their four-day tour of Colombia with engagements in the capital, Bogota. It follows their tour of Nigeria in May in which Meghan repeatedly emphasised her African heritage.
Prince Harry and Meghan attend the Giant of Africa Foundation at the Dream Big Basketball clinic in Lagos, Nigeria
A monument in San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia, in memory of Benkos Bioho, the founder of Palenque
It is the first place in America where free Africans were living since 1691
On Saturday the couple will be shown a statue of San Basilio’s founder, Benkos Bioho. After freeing himself from his Spanish rulers, Bioho, originally from modern-day Guinea Bissau, established the town, which has Unesco heritage status, as an ‘enclave of liberation’ for emancipated slaves.
When King Charles visited nearby Cartagena with Camilla ten years ago, they paid their respects at an altogether different memorial. Charles, then Prince of Wales, unveiled a plaque honouring a British naval officer and his troops who laid siege to the city in 1741 in a bid to take it from the Spanish. Spain gave San Basilio autonomy in 1691. Earlier this year it celebrated greater freedom still thanks in part to Harry and Meghan’s host, Francia Marquez, the first black woman to hold the post of Colombian vice president.
She has pledged to give greater support to marginalised communities, and San Basilio has now been granted special status, meaning it will get its own mayor and state funding.
Left-wing Ms Marquez, 42, is an environmental campaigner and social activist who grew up in rural poverty in Colombia’s violence-plagued south-west.
She was put in charge of Colombia’s first ministry for equality in 2023 – but critics claim it has yet to do anything meaningful with the millions of pesos in its budget.
A source said: ‘She came in promising to help poor people – especially women. Instead, like everyone who gets a taste of power, she’s enjoying it.’
Downtown Cartagena in Colombia on a beautiful sunny day
One of the highlights of Harry and Meghan’s latest quasi-royal tour will be a visit to a place called a ‘little corner of Africa’
Ms Marquez has been accused of taking helicopters ‘like taxis’ (she says she uses them because of the threats against her) and of spending millions on a new home.
Many Colombians believe both she and president Gustavo Petro have failed to deliver on the promises that swept them to power two years ago.
Indeed, some view the Sussexes’ visit as little more than a cynical attempt by a failing Left-wing government to divert attention from a series of scandals.
A prominent Bogota lawyer said: ‘I’m sure Meghan and Harry mean well, but everyone here is talking about how obviously they are being manipulated. The government has been drowning in scandal since it came in two years ago. They need something to appease people at home and make them look good abroad.’
On Sunday the Duke and Duchess will also visit a music festival in the city of Cali. The Petronio Alvarez Festival takes place every August at a sports complex.