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Prince Harry retraces Diana’s footsteps through Angola minefield 22 years later

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Updated on September 27, 2019

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The Duke of Sussex retraced his mother’s steps in the Angolan city of Huambo on Friday.

Since Diana’s effort, Huambo has become a “bustling community.”

Prince Harry wore a similar outfit on Friday as he assisted in the detonation of a controlled explosion in a partly cleared Angolan minefield, which was identical to the one seen by his mother 22 years ago.

With the world’s media watching, Harry went carefully along the street where Princess Diana toured the Angolan minefield in 1997. The duke went to a tree, which was the only item that remained from the original location. He stopped there for a minute of contemplation.

“It’s been quite emotional retracing my mother’s steps along this street 22 years on … and to see the transformation that has taken place from an unsafe and desolate area into a vibrant community of local businesses and colleges,” Harry told the de-miners, local residents, schoolchildren, and media who had gathered in what is now known as “Princess Diana street.”

He stated, “It is fitting that this project starts in Dirico, at the convergence of the two rivers that flow from Angola’s islands down to the Okavango Delta.” “These two rivers provide water and life to over a million people downstream and an essential and incredibly delicate habitat for an abundance of wildlife.

“Just as these rivers extend for miles, so must this project extend far beyond Dirico. Outside the national parks, large parts of this crucial watershed also need to be cleared of landmines.

“Clearing the full watershed will take an international effort. Everyone who recognises the priceless importance of safeguarding Africa’s most intact natural landscape should commit fully to this mission.”

Harry passed through a partly cleared minefield on his approach to Huambo before detonating an anti-personnel mine in a planned explosion in the southern village of Dirico.

“The results we have now is because of Diana’s input. She made the donors aware that the international community is also part of this problem and that they could help,” Valdemar Goncalves Fernandes, HALO Angola’s Operations Manager, told CNN. “We don’t produce ammunition and mines in Angola.”

Since August, Halo Trust employees have been working to make the minefield safe, with the goal of clearing it by the end of October.