Prince Harry retraces Princess Diana's steps

Prince Harry. Picture: Instagram

Prince Harry. Picture: Instagram

Published Sep 27, 2019

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Prince Harry "retraced his mother's steps" from 22 years ago as he walked through a minefield in Angola on Friday.

The 35-year-old royal donned body armour and a protective visor as he visited a de-mining site in Dirico before helping to remotely detonate a landmine, echoing the late Princess Diana's visit to a similar site in January 1997.

A post on Harry and his wife Duchess Meghan's Instagram account read: "Today in Angola The Duke of Sussex will retrace his mother's steps to see the legacy of her work and how her connection with this community helped make the elimination of landmines a reality.

"In 1997 Diana Princess of Wales visited Huambo to bring global attention to the crisis of landmines and the people whose lives were being destroyed. Two decades later, the area has transformed from desolate and unhabitable to lively and vibrant, with colleges, schools and small businesses.

"The Duke is humbled to be visiting a place and a community that was so special to his mother, and to recognise her tireless mission as an advocate for all those she felt needed her voice the most, even if the issue was not universally popular.

"Princess Diana's visit helped change the course of history, and directly led to the Convention against Anti-Personal Landmines, also known as the Ottawa Treaty."

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Following in the footsteps of his mother, Princess Diana, this morning The Duke of Sussex visited a de-mining site in Dirico, Angola, to raise awareness of the danger and prevalence of landmines that still exists today. The Duke joined @thehalotrust in their work to help clear the area to enable safe access for the local community. • “If an international ban on mines can be secured it means, looking far ahead, that the world may be a safer place for this generation's grandchildren.” – Princess Diana, 1997 Today in Angola The Duke of Sussex will retrace his mother’s steps to see the legacy of her work and how her connection with this community helped make the elimination of landmines a reality. In 1997 Diana Princess of Wales visited Huambo to bring global attention to the crisis of landmines and the people whose lives were being destroyed. Two decades later, the area has transformed from desolate and unhabitable to lively and vibrant, with colleges, schools and small businesses. The Duke is humbled to be visiting a place and a community that was so special to his mother, and to recognise her tireless mission as an advocate for all those she felt needed her voice the most, even if the issue was not universally popular. Princess Diana’s visit helped change the course of history, and directly led to the Convention against Anti-Personal Landmines, also known as the Ottawa Treaty. Today, with the support of @thehalotrust, Angola now has a stated aim under the Treaty to be clear of known mines by 2025. Despite great progress, 60 million people worldwide still live in fear of landmines every day. During his visit today, The Duke will walk along the street which was once the minefield where his mother was famously pictured. #RoyalVisitAfrica #RoyalVisitAngola Photo©️PA

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex(@sussexroyal) on Sep 27, 2019 at 12:12am PDT

At the site, Harry - who has five-month-old son Archie with Meghan - praised the work of the Halo Trust, which works to clear landmines and other explosives in countries recovering from war.

He said: "Landmines are an unhealed scar of war. By clearing the landmines we can help this community find peace, and with peace comes opportunity,

"Additionally, we can protect the diverse and unique wildlife that relies on the beautiful Kuito river that I slept beside last night.

"That river and those wildlife are your natural assets and, if looked after, will bring you unlimited opportunities in the conservation-led economy."

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