ROYAL TOUR: Prince Harry shares poignant photos of himself retracing Princess Diana’s footsteps

Publish Date: Monday, 30 September 2019, 9:44AM

Twenty-two years after Princess Diana made headlines around the world for walking through a minefield in Angola, Prince Harry has paid a special tribute to his late mother's legacy as he retraced her footsteps.

The Duke of Sussex wore the exact same body armour and protective visor as his mother did in January 1997, as he walked through the same partially cleared minefield in Dirico to highlight the ongoing threat of land mines in the region.

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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

The south-eastern town of Dirico is a former artillery base for anti-government forces who left mines in the position in 2000 before retreating.

Taking to Instagram to share poignant pictures from his visit over the weekend, Harry said he was "humbled to be visiting a place and a community that was so special to his mother."

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“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 uninhabitable 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. #RoyalTourAfrica #RoyalVisitAngola Photo©️PA

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Sep 26, 2019 at 11:15pm PDT

"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."

During his visit, the 35-year-old royal watched a mine clearance worker use a metal detector to search for any anti-personnel weapons still buried in the ground.

The Prince later set off a decades-old mine, which had been discovered earlier that day, in a controlled explosion to safely destroy it.

Meghan Markle, who accompanied Harry overseas for their 10-day royal tour, stayed in South Africa with their five-month-old son, Archie.

After his solo travels, Harry will reunite with his family in Johannesburg before leaving for London on October 2.

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