Prince Harry and Meghan Markle cost the Colombian taxpayer $58,000 last month in expenses connected with their four-day visit to the country at the invitation of Vice President Francia Marquez, according to reports.
The duke and duchess undertook 12 engagements across four days in the cities of Bogotá, Cartagena and Cali during a stay in the country which ran from August 15 to 18.
The Daily Telegraph reports that according to the vice president’s office, the cost of the royals’ security and internal travel during their stay, as well as four days of advance visits from staff, topped Col$244,245,305 ($58,397.81).
The couple are understood to have met the costs of their travel to and from the country, as well as their accommodation and general expenses themselves.
Newsweek approached representatives for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle via email for comment.
The taxpayer cost of the visit has come to light just weeks after the public costs associated with the British royals’ travel were pulled into focus upon the publication of the annual Sovereign Grant Report.
This official report on the operating costs associated with the monarchy includes an appendix listing all travel undertaken by members of the royal family which exceeds £17,000 ($22,300) per trip.
The report revealed that in June 2023, King Charles took a 500-mile train ride that cost the taxpayer $67,000.
The king traveled from Windsor to Yorkshire in Northern England aboard the royal train to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and other public engagements.
The royal train has earned regular criticism in recent years for being an excessively expensive mode of travel.
There has been a royal train since the reign of Queen Victoria, with the current fleet of carriages dating back to the 1970s. They include bedrooms and living compartments for members of the royal family, as well as offices for members of the royal household and accommodation for royal staff.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the train was considered a safe and secure way for the monarch to undertake multi-day engagements around Britain without the need for renting expensive hotel rooms and disrupting local policing.
In 2020, Prince William and Princess Kate undertook a highly publicized tour of Britain aboard the royal train to meet with key workers during the COVID pandemic.
The train was used for only one round trip between 2023 and 2024. In the financial year 2022-2023, the royals took four trips on the royal train at a total cost of £122,567 ($160,835). These included two trips taken by Queen Elizabeth.
Royal travel costs have always peaked media interest as they relate to public expenditure.
The monarchy spent more than $3.4 million on official travel between 2023 and 2024. Over $1 million of this was spent on 170 helicopter rides.
Since 2020, Harry and Meghan are no longer official working members of the royal family, therefore they do not receive any public funding. All travel connected with their work is privately funded either by themselves or their hosts.
