Prince Harry donned a protective vest as he retraced his mother Princess Diana’s steps along an Angolan minefield just months before her tragic death.
The Duke of Sussex, as a patron of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust, spoke to families in a remote village 28 years after his mother tried to raise awareness of their plight living next to Africa’s largest minefield.
He gave children in Cuito Cuanavale advice on avoiding detonating mines, telling them in Portuguese: ‘Stop, go back and tell your elders.’
The duke was highlighting the threat of the munitions in Angola, the same nation Diana, Princess of Wales visited in 1997 to urge the world to ban the weapons.
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On Tuesday, he met Angola’s President Joao Lourenco and welcomed the leader’s intention to continue support for the removal of landmines left from the civil war that ended in 2002.
Months before she died in a car crash, Diana, wearing a protective visor and vest, walked through a minefield being cleared by the Halo Trust.
She strode through a cleared path in a Huambo minefield, and the images of her in body armour and a mask gave the anti-landmine campaign global recognition.
Harry, who also echoed Diana in a 2019 visit to an Angolan minefield, said: ‘Children should never have to live in fear of playing outside or walking to school.
‘Here in Angola, over three decades later, the remnants of war still threaten lives every day.’
The Angolan government is the Halo Trust’s largest donor in the south-western Africa country.
A new three-year contract between the Angolan government and the Halo Trust was discussed during the meeting with Mr Lourenco.
Later that day, at a reception hosted by the British Embassy, Harry spoke with business leaders about maintaining partnerships in humanitarian work.
He said: ‘The Angolan government’s continued commitment is a powerful testament to Halo’s success in saving lives and reducing humanitarian risk.
‘We thank President Lourenco for his leadership and partnership, as well as continued donor support, as we work together towards completing the mission of a landmine-free country.’
It is estimated that at least 60,000 people have been killed or injured by landmines in Angola since 2008, the Halo Trust said.
The trust has cleared more than 120,000 landmines and 100,000 bombs from the country.
However, in the past five years at least 80 Angolans have been killed by the devices and more than 1,000 minefields are yet to be cleared.
Diana spoke out against the sale and use of landmines and famously called for an international ban on them during her 1997 trip.
The visit came after reports Prince Harry and King Charles could be ready to heal their public rift following a meeting between their aides.
The Duke of Sussex hasn’t seen his father in about 18 months, after Harry and his wife Meghan Markle’s decision to step back as working royals, and the release of his autobiography, Spare.
Their estrangement was further cemented after the Duchess of Sussex mentioned in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that a member of the royal family had asked about their son Alfie’s skin colour before he was born.
But a meeting was held to discuss avoiding media and calendar clashes, The Sun reports – and with Harry due back in the UK in September to attend a WellChild event, it’s thought he could also visit his father.
