Prince Harry To Honor Princess Diana's Historical Walk Through Active Minefield In Angola

Sep 24, 2019 by apost team

This Monday marked the beginning of Prince Harry’s, Meghan Markle’s and their son Archie’s Royal African tour.  Later this week, when Prince Harry is planned to visit Angola, he will be honoring his mother’s work in the country by visiting the same minefield Princess Diana did during her last visit.

 In January 1997, the Princess of Wales walked through a minefield in Huambo, central Angola, to raise global awareness of the dangers of landmines.

According to Time, the late Princess Diana took to the minefields wearing protective clothing and equipment in order to raise the alarm on the dangers of landmines as well as the global efforts to be rid of them. 

The Ottowa Treaty, a legally binding convention that bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of landmines was first opened for signature in December 1997, just four months following Diana’s tragic death.

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During Diana’s visit to Angola in 1997, she became aware of the HALO Trust, an organization that worked on the removal of landmines since 1994 which were placed during the then-ongoing civil war. 

According to the Trust’s official website, the organization’s mission is “to protect lives and restore the livelihoods of those affected by conflict. We clear landmines and the explosive debris of war so families, communities and countries can recover."

Diana had met with landmine survivors to learn more about their experiences. She was then accompanied by HALO students and mine-clearance experts through an active minefield. 

“Diana’s visit is something that people in Huambo still talk about today,” said Ralph Legg, program manager of HALO Trust’s operations in Angola, as per Time.  

“For the people that were here at that time, which was obviously still a time of conflict, it led to a feeling of acknowledgment, and that their plight was recognized around the world. The people I’ve spoken to who met Diana on that trip have all said how kind, considerate and how genuinely interested she seemed in them.”

Photos and reports on Diana’s visit of the minefields spread across the globe, thus raising the profile on the dire issue. Following her visit to Angola, the Princess of Wales wrote a letter to the Red Cross stating: 

“If my visit has contributed in any way at all in highlighting this terrible issue, then my deepest wish will have been fulfilled.”

And now, according to HALO’s official website, Prince Harry will be honoring his mother’s efforts in the country by visiting the Trust on September 26 and 27 as part of the Royal African tour. During his visit to Angola, he will also be visiting the city of Huomba, where his mother had famously walked through the active minefield. 

The visit is scheduled two months before the Mine-Free conference in Oslo, Norway, which aims to create a mine-free world by 2025. 

What do you think of Prince Harry honoring his mother on his African tour? Let us know in the comments - and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!