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Prince Harry retraces Princess Diana’s steps in Angola minefield to boost landmine-clearing mission

Prince Harry has retraced his mother Princess Diana’s footsteps walking through a minefield in Angola in a solo visit that comes amid attempts to de-escalate an explosive feud within the royal family.
Madeline CoveBy Madeline Cove
Nearly three decades after Diana’s iconic visit, Prince Harry has returned to Angola’s minefields. Credit: The HALO Trust

Prince Harry retraces Princess Diana’s steps in Angola minefield to boost landmine-clearing mission

Prince Harry has retraced his mother Princess Diana’s footsteps walking through a minefield in Angola in a solo visit that comes amid attempts to de-escalate an explosive feud within the royal family.
Madeline CoveBy Madeline Cove

Prince Harry has retraced his mother Princess Diana’s footsteps by walking through an active minefield in Angola in a bid to raise awareness of a landmine-clearing mission

A photo of the Duke of Sussex taken while partnering with mine-clearing charity the Halo Trust on July 16, bears a striking similarity to one taken of the late Princess Diana nearly three decades before.

Harry left wife Meghan and their children at home, preferring to travel solo for the trip which comes amid attempts to de-escalate an explosive feud within the royal family.

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Earlier this week senior aides for King Charles and Prince Harry were seen meeting for a surprise peace summit that aims to open the lines of communication between the estranged father and son. Prince William, however, was notably absent.

Prince Harry touched down at Luanda airport before flying by a series of small two-seater planes to reach the remote site littered with landmines.

The visit marks his latest outing with Halo, the British charity Princess Diana famously supported in 1997 during her own walk through a mine-ridden field in Huambo, which became one of the most iconic images of her humanitarian work.

This time, Prince Harry is hoping his visit will serve more than symbolic value.

Princess Diana walked through the Angola minefields almost three decades before Prince Harry retraced her footsteps. Credit: Giovanni Diffidenti/AP

The Duke is pushing for renewed government support to help Halo meet its ambitious target of clearing all landmines in Angola by 2025.

The country — still recovering from a 27-year civil war that left millions of explosive devices buried across the landscape — pledged £46 million ($AUD95 million) for wildlife corridor creation when Prince Harry became Halo’s patron in 2019.

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“The Duke of Sussex hopes the publicity from the daring stunt will encourage the Angolan government to make more donations to Halo,” a source told The Sun.

Since 1994, Halo has cleared more than 123,000 mines in Angola, working to transform former war zones into viable farmland and safe villages.

Prince Harry previously recreated his mother’s iconic photo in 2010, walking through a minefield with Halo workers. While Meghan Markle did not join him this time, sources suggest Prince Harry prefers to keep his work with Halo under the radar.

“Harry hopes to keep his work with Halo close to his chest”, one source reportedly said, adding that his solo tour may be a tactical shift to draw focus away from royal family tensions.

Still, the visit is generating headlines globally, with the imagery of Prince Harry on the minefield again commanding attention. It’s also part of a broader engagement with the African nation: he visited in 2019, became a Halo patron, attended a UN event with Angola’s foreign minister in 2024, and has toured the country’s newly cleared minefields, detonated landmines, and spent nights camping along the Cuito River.

He has also visited the Princess Diana Orthopaedic Centre, met with female deminers, and toured a demining camp.

Princess Diana at the Orthopaedic Centre. Credit: Princess Diana Blog

Prince Harry is expected to give a speech on Thursday but, in a telling move, the event is closed to British media. Halo reportedly made the decision with Prince Harry’s approval.

Meanwhile, signs of a thaw between the Duke and the palace are emerging after the private meeting between senior aides to the King and members of Prince Harry’s Archewell communications team at the exclusive Royal Over-Seas League club, not far from Buckingham Palace.

Prince Harry was not present but is said to have “given his blessing” for the talks.

The King and Queen’s director of communications, Tobyn Andreae, met with Archewell’s chief communications officer, Meredith Maines, and its UK and Europe comms lead, Liam Maguire.

“They spoke about potential ways to end their family conflict, though a proposal for Harry to make a royal return was not on the agenda,” a source said.

The palace is understood to have approved the meeting as part of a broader push to “open a channel of communication”, but Prince William’s office was notably absent from the discussion.

“There was no contact between Harry’s team and one working for William and Kate — or any invitation for face-to-face meetings,” the source added.

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