PRINCE Harry and Meghan's new chief of staff has quit just days before their "faux-royal tour" in Colombia. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been personally invited to spend a few days in Colombia by the country's Vice President Francia Márquez. It is understood they will jet over this summer in November when their schedule will include trips to capital Bogotá, and Pacific regions Cartagena and Cali.
But just days before the trip, their chief of staff Josh Kettler has quite his role after scarcely three months. Mr Kettler, a seasoned Public Relations professional, was with Prince Harry on his recent and rare visit to London to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games. He was pictured entering St Paul's Cathedral with the Duke for the ceremony which was attended by certain high profile figures including Harry's uncle and Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, but was not attended by any other Royal Family members.
Mr Kettler was also a key figure on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's three-day "tour" of Nigeria and was by Harry's side as he met government officials. Appointed just months ago, Mr Kettler was reportedly hired to "guide him through his next phase," but has left the Prince in the lurch before a major international visit. It is understood that Mr Kettler's departure was unrelated to the Colombia trip.
Mr Kettler's very brief time in his position highlights the difficulties that the Duke and Duchess have had retaining staff. Kettler joins a long line of prestigious quitters, following the exit of Bennett Levine, manager of the Sussex's TV company Archewell Productions, who quit at the start of the year, as well as the Oscar-nominated producer Ben Browning, who quit as head of internal content at the company in January last year. The total number the Sussexes have lost since they married in 2018 is said to be at least 18, with nine or more having left since they moved to California in 2020.
The pair are set to "experience the rich heritage of Colombia" in a visit that has been branded a "faux-royal" tour. And the Vice President even said she is "confident" the Sussexes' visit will "illuminate Colombia's role as a beacon of culture and innovation". Ahead of the planned trip to Colombia, Francia Márquez said: "I am pleased to announce that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have kindly accepted my invitation to visit our beautiful country.
"During their trip, The Duke and Duchess will join me in visiting Bogotá, as well as the Caribbean and Pacific regions of Cartagena and Cali. "In these vibrant locations, they will have the exceptional opportunity to engage with leaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress. "Their visit comes at a particularly significant time, as it precedes the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, to be held in Colombia this November.
"The Archewell Foundation , founded by The Duke and Duchess, is renowned for its global leadership in fostering a safer online environment. "The forthcoming conference will unveil a comprehensive framework for creating safer physical and digital spaces, tackling issues such as cyberbullying, online exploitation, and the mental health impacts of these threats. "It will offer actionable solutions and commitments for countries around the world.
" Last month, Prince Harry's charity chief Dominic Reid quit his role as chief executive of the Invictus Games Foundation. Dominic's resignation came just days after Harry was blasted for choosing to accept the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPYS. The duke, who founded the Paralympic-style sporting competition in 2014, thanked Dominic for his "dedication and leadership" in a heartfelt note on Friday.
By Piers Morgan My all-time favourite theatre review was about a play called: Why? The critic wrote one word: “Exactly.” I thought of this when I heard that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will embark on a four-day tour of Colombia this Thursday. They’re going at the invitation of the country’s first black Vice President, Francia Marquez, who gushed that the renegade royal duo “have the exceptional opportunity to engage with elders, youth and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians .
. . and illuminate Colombia’s role as a beacon of culture and innovation”.
Meghan and Harry aren’t real royals these days. They don’t do any actual duties for the institution which conferred their titles on them — they just line their pockets with cash in America by constantly trashing their families, and the monarchy, in the media. So, what gives them the right to prance around the world pretending to be proper royals, on quasi- official visits? There are so many things wrong about this.
First, the laughable hypocrisy of them going to one of the world’s most dangerous places — both the UK and US government websites warn travellers to Colombia about the elevated risk of terrorism, kidnapping, rape and robbery — after all of Harry’s whiny demands for taxpayer-funded royal security when he comes to the UK to “protect his family”. Second, their decision to go and prop up a Colombian government that’s been bedevilled by scandal since coming to power. President Gustavo Petro, a radical socialist who once fought in a rebel guerrilla group, has seen his foreign minister suspended for alleged cor- ruption, his son Nicolas charged with pocketing cash from drug traffickers meant for his father’s presidential campaign, and his brother Juan accused of seeking payments from jailed drug dealers in exchange for judicial benefits from the government.
Petro’s also faced recent allegations that he cheated on his wife with a transgender TV host. As for his Vice President, there’s been growing public anger over her hypocrisy at being Colombia’s minister for equality while simultaneously using luxury helicopters like taxis and spending millions on a new home where she now lives instead of her official residence. Opposition politician Miguel Polo Polo posted on X: “Francia Marquez is the biggest fraud in our black community.
“She’s been in office for two years and has done nothing, only play the victim and travel around in helicopters.” Sound familiar? But what I’m most annoyed about is the Sussexes’ delusion that they can somehow operate as a rival royal family on the global stage, enjoying all the benefits from that regal status but without any need to fulfil their obligations to their King and country. It’s completely unacceptable, and unsustainable, for estranged members of the Royal Family to conduct official trips like this.
The King should strip Meghan and Harry of their titles that they trade off so cynically, and instruct Palace officials to tell heads of foreign governments that they must stop issuing formal tour invitations of this nature to this greedy two-faced pair who want to have their royal cake and eat it..
