Prince Harry seemed full of joy this week as he salsa danced and enjoyed the spotlight during his quasi-royal tour of Colombia with wife Meghan Markle.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex‘s exciting trip drew to a close in Cali yesterday with Meghan delivering a speech in Spanish during her talk on ‘Afro women and power’.

But, according to one of Harry’s oldest pals, the Duke is hiding anger and frustration beneath the surface as he would rather be in Britain with his friends and family.

Speaking to The Times, the friend claimed they are among the few who get ‘the odd WhatsApp from him’, adding: ‘He’s an angry boy. Things haven’t turned out how he wanted.

‘I think he misses being over here [in Britain] desperately and wants to be admired more. Anyone who knows him feels he’d rather be top of the pops here with everyone loving him, as they do with William and Kate.’

Meanwhile, a source known to Harry since his teenage years claimed the Duke is no doubt missing his former life of pubbing and enjoying the English countryside with friends.

‘He has ended up isolated from his family and most of his old mates, in an environment where your friendships are not like the ones you forged as a young man,’ they said. ‘He used to love a night out in the pub and hanging out in the country with friends.

Prince Harry looks back while in the audience to watch his wife Meghan speak at a talk on ‘Afro women and power’

Meghan speaks during her talk on Afro women and power in Cali, Colombia

Harry and Meghan salsa dancing during their tour of Colombia this week

Colombia’s Vice President Francia Marquez greets Colombia’s former Education Minister Aurora Vergara next to Harry and Meghan

Harry was full of smiles during his exciting tour of Colombia this week

As the ongoing rift between Harry and the royal family continues, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams suggested that Meghan’s speech in Cali on Sunday was ‘extremely selective’.

‘Her hosts will have been delighted that she spoke in Spanish. However, when she talks of ”you see something wrong, you want to fix it” and ‘love, kindness and generosity”, she is, given the public rift with the royal family […] being extremely selective,’ he told MailOnline.

Speaking of the success of the tour, Mr Fitzwilliams said: ‘It’s certainly been a success as they see it. It has highlighted the Sussexes’s profile, which was pivotal for them.’

However, the royal commentator highlighted the contradiction between saying Britain is ‘too dangerous’ to visit before taking a trip to Colombia.

Mr Fitzwilliams said: ‘The problem is the disastrous optics of saying Britain is ”too dangerous” to visit and going to Colombia, which is notorious for its high levels of crime.

‘This is absurd, the fact that Harry is involved in a battle with the Home Office over levels of security which he may win, does not alter the fact that he reportedly preferred a hotel to Buckingham Palace when he was last in Britain. It doesn’t make any sense.’

During their trip, Harry and Meghan recreated a memorable image from William and Kate’s tour of the Caribbean – with the Sussexes pictured practising their drumming skills at a music school in the port city Cartagena.

In happier times, the shared experience might have prompted the Prince of Wales and his brother to swap notes on their percussion skills.

Harry and Meghan participate in a drum lesson led by Colombian students during their tour

Harry and Meghan sit together at Escuela de Tambores de Cabildo

Harry and Meghan clapping during a performance at La Boquilla drum school in Cartagena

But in the two years that have passed since the pictures were taken, the gulf between them has only grown.

So much so, reports yesterday said the Prince of Wales would not want his brother at his coronation, whenever that time comes. ‘They are estranged, which is dreadfully sad,’ one of the brothers’ closest friends told The Sunday Times.

Speaking at the ‘Afro women and power’ forum at the Enrique Buenaventura Municipal Theatre in city of Cali, Meghan referred to Colombia’s vice president Francia Marquez – the first black woman to hold the position – as ‘mi amiga (my friend)’.

She received a loud cheer when she said: ‘Sorry if my Spanish is not perfect because I learned 20 years ago in Argentina but I’m trying because here I can feel this community and this feeling which is the best in the world.’

Yesterday Ms Marquez showed the couple around Cali, known as the country’s salsa capital, whose cartel was once responsible for controlling more than 80 per cent of the world’s cocaine market.

It followed a visit to Escuela Tambores de Cabildo, a school in Cartagena working to preserve traditional African drumming.

Prince Harry and Meghan had a go themselves after being welcomed with a performance by pupils.

Meghan Markle on stage for the Afro women and power debate in Cali

School founder Rafael Ramos said: ‘I love seeing Meghan’s big, big smile. I can tell she’s excited.’

Afterwards the couple heard from members of the community about the importance of preserving the region’s culture, specifically its Afro-Colombian roots. The country has the third largest population of African descent.

It echoed William and Kate’s visit to Jamaica in March 2022, when they played the bongos in Trench Town, Kingston.

The couple were mobbed by crowds chanting, ‘We love you’ as they walked through Jamaica’s capital. In contrast, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have pointedly avoided public interaction during their trip.

The last chapter of the tour marked a change of pace after a visit on Saturday to a traditional Afro-Caribbean village, San Basilio de Palenque, where they enjoyed a performance by local rapper Afroneto.

Josefa Hernandez, 38, who served as master of ceremonies for the trip, said: ‘This visit has been very symbolic for us.’