Earlier in the year, an announcement was made stating that the Harkles would be attending 'The Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children' in Bogotá, Colombia, held 7 to 8 November 2024. Prior to this, they made a private trip in August 2024, that was riddled with controversy, in particular because the Vice President, Francia Márquez had invited them and it appeared that public funds and services had been used during the trip. The Columbians were not happy.
The above video message was released on 7 November 2024, and the speech seems to give the impression that the duo are in Columbia (use of this room, and here), but if so, why didn’t anyone see them there? As expected, the speech was full of word salad phrases that offer nothing, but seem to plug Archewell’s online project (Parents Network). The speech appeared to have been written with the intent to be delivered in Columbia, so why didn’t the duo hop on a plane to Columbia?
Perhaps no one was going to pay their expenses? Allegedly, the last visit was funded partly by an independent party and Archewell, but no one really cares except the Columbians who saw the visit as a waste of resources when there is a high level of poverty in the country. Either way, no one wants to talk about why the Harkles weren’t invited back after the first visit was a PR disaster.
The video seemed to have been highly edited with both struggling to read the screen with Harold’s eyebrows moving every nano second, and TW seemed to get cross eyed several times. It’s obvious that there has been some soft focus lighting too as TW’s dark tan a few weeks ago disappeared and she’s as pale as Harold. Again, the video message served as PR for themselves to appear to be doing something but actually nothing.
However, it’s all about the deceptive nature of the video message, and it seems no one bothered to amend the speech, or did they want to give the impression they were there? What is more amusing or rather disrespectful is that Harold seemed to throw on a Scotty’s Little Soldiers scarf at the same time for a photo that was used by the charity. Clearly the photo and video footage was taken at the same time and not in Columbia but in their own backyard.
Some consider TW wearing a poppy to be disrespectful given that she isn’t British or from the Commonwealth, as she never even really understood what it meant. It seems to be some kind of attempt to justify using the ducal title in the US. Regardless, it seems that no one at the conference was interested in what they had to say, and they didn’t miss them either, with the video message being ignored.
As for Harold seeking a platform for Remembrance Sunday, the annual letter to Scotty’s Little Soldiers was all that he managed this year. We should be thankful that the duo didn’t invade another cemetery and use it as a location for a photo shoot. Perhaps the use of the ducal title has dried up with no invitations and doors being closed? While some may say this was the long game being played by the Royal Family, it doesn’t erase all the damage that has been done over the past 6 years. Will the Harkles ever be invited back to Columbia? Someone really should ask Vice President, Francia Márquez if she had invited them back in November, and if not, why not?
