Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are being protected on their Colombia tour by an officer wielding a Kevlar shield known as a “ballistic briefcase” to stop a shooter targeting the couple.

The royal, 39, and his 43-year-old wife, who have children Archie, five, and three-year-old Lilibet, are on a four-day tour of the nation despite UK and US officials classing swathes of it as high risk destinations.

At each event the couple have attended their shield-bearing protector, who is only part of their huge security detail, has been seen leaping out of a vehicle head of the pair holding a folding shield.

Known as a ballistic briefcase it is also used to protect Colombia’s vice-president Francia Marquez – who is hosting the visit and has been the target of several assassination attempts.

The Sun reported Harry and Meghan have an “immense ring-of-steel” security presence.

Officials have kept their itinerary a closely guarded secret due to parts of Colombia being branded “best avoided” by officials and travel experts due to internal conflicts raging in parts of the country.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were escorted to a school on Friday (16.08.24) in the Santa Fe area of Bogota with other tight security that the Daily Mail reported included “at least 16 armoured police vehicles”, as well as armed officers and soldiers, who the publication said were seen on patrol before their arrival.

It added roads were blocked off as the couple’s convoy swept into the area, which the Mail said has been described as a “no-go zone” in the Colombian capital.

MailOnline said when it asked for a taxi to take a reporter to the are “he questioned if we had the right place”.

The school visited to by the couple is overlooked by rundown apartment blocks and several favelas embedded into the hillsides.

Harry and Meghan are visiting the nation despite him battling in court in the UK to get increased protection for him and his family when they visit Britain.