Prince Harry follows in Diana's footsteps as he visits Angola in support of landmine clearance charity

16 Jul 2025, 07:40 by Alice Padgett · LBC

The Duke of Sussex has visited Angola and attended a discussion with the country’s president on removing landmines, a charity he is patron of has said.Picture: The Halo Trust/Alamy

By Alice Padgett

@Alice_padge

The Duke of Sussex has visited Angola and attended a discussion with the country’s president on removing landmines, a charity he is patron of has said.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust said that during the meeting President Joao Lourenco "expressed his intention to continue to support our work".

In 2019, Harry donned body armour and a protective visor while setting off a controlled explosion in a partially cleared minefield similar to one visited by his mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

He was highlighting the ongoing threat of the munitions in Angola, the same nation his mother visited in 1997 to urge the world to ban the weapons.

Just 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 in the south-west African country.

He was highlighting the ongoing threat of the munitions in Angola, the same nation his mother visited in 1997 to urge the world to ban the weapons.Picture: Halo Trust

James Cowan, chief executive of the charity, said: "It was an honour to have an audience with His Excellency President Lourenco today alongside Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex to discuss Halo's continued demining efforts in Angola.

"We thanked him for his extraordinary dedication to and investment in the vision of a mine-free country, and he expressed his intention to continue to support our work with a further significant contract for the next three years.

"Our partnership is strengthened and renewed, and we are grateful to President Lourenco for his leadership on this critical issue."

Prince Harry, pictured in 2019, walking through a minefield in Dirico, Angola, following in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana, whose walk through an active mine field helped to lead to a global ban on the deadly weapons.Picture: Alamy

Princess Diana, pictured in 1997, duing her visit to a minefield in Angola.Picture: Alamy

During his 2019 trip, the Duke of Sussex delivered a call to action to help rid the world of landmines.

He said Angola's continued problem with the buried munitions would likely have been solved if his mother had lived.

James Cowan, chief executive of the charity, said: "It was an honour to have an audience with His Excellency President Lourenco today.".Picture: Halo Trust

Diana spoke out against the sale and use of landmines and famously called for an international ban on them during her 1997 trip.

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.