Meghan Markle is expected to give a speech about female empowerment on the fourth and final day of her and Prince Harry’s Colombia tour while visiting a theatre in the city of Cali

Meghan Markle beamed as she arrived at a heavily-guarded theatre supported by Prince Harry, where she will deliver a speech on female empowerment on the final day of their tour in Colombia.

The Duchess of Sussex looked glamorous in a sleeveless white shirt and jewelled skirt as she greeted those inside the Municipal Theatre in the city of Cali at the Afro women and power forum and she shook hands with those in the audience as a proud Harry looked on. Following all of their previous engagements in Colombia, security was tight around the theatre with heavily armed soldiers, explosive officers and police officers, including one with a dog, who were seen standing guard.

Later, Harry and Meghan are expected to visit the Petronio Alvarez Festival, which is a celebration of Afro-Colombian music. It will be the final event of their four-day trip to the South American nation.

Meghan excitedly shook hands with some of those in the audience ( 
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)

It comes after the Sussexes visited the port city of Cartagena yesterday, where they dropped by on a local drum school that preserves the art-form of traditional African drumming. There, Harry and Meghan were gifted a small handcrafted wooden boat from a student, an ode to the beautiful coastal town and its beaches, before joining in with a drum lesson led by the students, followed by a performance from some of the locals which brought both the vice president and Meghan to their feet.

Afterwards, they were given a warm welcome in “a little corner of Africa” that has become a symbol of anti-colonial resistance. The couple visited the historic north Colombian village of San Basilio de Palenque, which was founded by escaped slaves in the 17th century and became the Americas’ first ‘free town’ for Africans. Harry, who has acknowledged how the royal family profited from slavery, and Meghan, who has Nigerian heritage, were hosted there amid heavy security, which has been highly visible throughout their trip.

Harry and Meghan’s security in Colombia includes an officer armed with a Kevlar shield to stop any potential shooter taking aim at the couple. At almost all events the couple have attended the man – part of the local security detail – has been seen jumping out of a vehicle ahead of the couple holding the folding shield.

Meghan was all smiles ahead of her keynote speech ( 

Image:
AFP via Getty Images)

The shield – known as a ballistic briefcase – is also being used to protect the country’s vice president, who is hosting the visit and who has been the target of several assassination attempts. Last year her protection team found 7kg of explosives buried in a rural road leading to her home in the south western province of Cauca. Just two months ago, her father and six-year-old nephew escaped unharmed after gunmen shot up a car they were in, leaving it riddled with bullets. Security websites describe the ballistic briefcase as a discreet close protection and a rapid-deployment safety device.

The ring of steel surrounding the party will raise eyebrows as Colombia has travel advisory warnings from the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office. The duke has meanwhile maintained it is ‘dangerous’ for Meghan to return to the UK. Harry lost a High Court challenge against the Home Office in February over a decision to change the level of his personal security when he visits the UK, but he has been given the green light to appeal.