Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Speak Spanish with Kindergarteners in Colombia — and Bring Up Son Prince Archie!

Mar. 15, 2025

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Colombian school on Aug. 16, 2024.Photo:Courtesy of the Vice President’s Office

Courtesy of the Vice President’s Office

Meghan MarkleandPrince Harryare heading back to the classroom (again!) on theirtrip to Colombia.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Santa Fe school Colegio La Giraldaon on Aug. 16, the second day of their trip to the South American country, to bring attention to the importance of social-emotional well-being in education.

“You’re the same age as my son, Archie!” she told a student in Spanish. (The pair are also parents to a 3-year-old daughter,Princess Lilibet.)

Meghan Markle at a school visit in Colombia on Aug. 16, 2024.Courtesy of the Vice President’s Office

Meghan interned at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and studied abroad in Madrid, Spain, helping to hone her Spanish speaking skills. Shepreviously displayed her language ability during a 2020 outing to a Los Angeles charity.

“She spoke Spanish perfectly with one young woman,” Father Greg Boyle ofHomeboy Industries, a group that supports people moving on after incarceration or gang involvement, told PEOPLE following the visit. “She just went right into Spanish, which was a revelation — and it was very good.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also watched the class perform a song before receiving gifts and handwritten letters from the young students.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry visit a school in Colombia on Aug. 16, 2024.Courtesy of the Vice President’s Office

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also visited their social and emotional gym, highlighting mental and physical exercises for students to learn how to better balance their mental health. Pupils demonstrated meditation techniques for the couple.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in Colombia at the invitation of Vice President Francia Márquez, who joined them on the school visit.

Prince Harry and Meghan will continue their day with the vice president at a private lunch where they’ll get a detailed briefing on the inauguralGlobal Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, set to be held in Bogotá on Nov. 7 and 8.

“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,” she said in astatement, highlighting the work of the couple’s Archewell Foundation to make the world a safer place. Márquez said that creating safer online spaces will be a key theme of the upcoming conference, adding that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “will engage in several activities related to this important topic” while in Colombia.

Meghan Markle visits a school in Colombia on Aug. 16, 2024.Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty

Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s trip is due to continue with stops in Cartagena and Cali, continuing with an itinerary highlighting the core work of the Archwell Foundation and some of Prince Harry and Meghan’s closest causes, including the military community and female empowerment.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit a school in Colombia on Aug. 16, 2024.Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty

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In an Aug. 15 press conference, Márquez said that she got the idea to invite Harry and Meghan to Colombia after watching their eponymous docuseriesHarry & Meghan, which debuted on Netflix in December 2022.

“How did I get to know Meghan and Harry? I first encountered them through the media, and I particularly watched the Netflix series about their lives and their story, which deeply moved me,” Márquez said.

Prince harry visits a school in Colombia on Aug. 16, 2024.Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty

“It motivated me to say, ‘This is a woman who deserves to visit our country and share her story,’ and undoubtedly, her visit will strengthen so many women around the world,” she added.

source: people.com