No, the Colombian government did not pay for Duchess Meghan’s clothes

The Daily Mail has spent the past week trying to make the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Colombian tour into the biggest scandal ever. The Mail and many British outlets were furious that they didn’t have access to the Sussexes or their activities, and they were furious that they couldn’t argue that it was their right to barge into Colombia and start making demands. They were furious that Meghan and Harry’s tour was successful and that the Sussexes were well-received in yet another country. They were also furious that Meghan wore clothes and that Colombia provided the Sussexes with security. Those last two things have become a conversation in recent days, with the Mail claiming that Meghan “spent” £90,000 on clothes and jewelry for the tour, and that their Colombian security cost millions of dollars. Well, a Colombian outlet did some digging on the claims (this is via Google Translate):

The visit of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Colombia has been the subject of conversation among Colombians due to their unexpected arrival in the country and the costs they would have incurred during their tour of Bogotá, Cartagena and Cali. But many of the costs of airline tickets, Meghan’s clothing, and other expenses were not covered by the Colombian government, as many believed, since the tickets were purchased by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex themselves, who were interested in visiting our country.

Although the Ministry of Equality will confirm in a statement what the costs were, Diana Giraldo from 6AM Hoy por Hoy got ahead of herself and gave several details of the expenses of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit to the country.

One of them, which has been talked about a lot, has to do with the cost of Meghan Markle ‘s clothing , about which it was claimed that the Colombian government had hired several designers to fulfill her wishes every day. This turned out to be gossip, because the reality is that the clothes she wore were her own, as she is a fan of Colombian designs that she has had for some time.

It was also a complete rumor to say that more than $8 billion had been spent on this visit, because the reality is that many of the expenses incurred, such as travel, were paid for by international cooperation agencies. It is also not true that the Colombian government paid for 3,000 security men for this visit, nor that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex received fees for coming to our country.

Some of the movements of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to the different regions they visited were paid for by the government of Gustavo Petro, as well as the food and some efforts that were made for their participation in the “Afro Women and Power Forum” in the center of Cali. But the true costs of the trip will be published by the Ministry of Equality, headed by Vice President Francia Márquez, who will make official all the details surrounding the visit of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle.

[From Caracol]

Yeah, this is what happens when the British media starts howling about the “cost” of Meghan’s clothing and jewelry. The British media’s objective is twofold: one, how dare a Black woman have designer clothing and nice jewelry; and two, what if “taxpayers” are paying for a Black woman to live like this?? The Mail and other outlets know that Meghan is wearing her own clothes and jewelry and that no government paid for any of it, but they’re just trying to cause racist drama. As for the costs of the security… like, okay? Francia Marquez traveled with the Sussexes for four days, and Marquez has her own government security. It seems pretty clear that the government simply added personnel to Marquez’s existing security detail to ensure the VIP Sussexes’ safety.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.