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prince harry landmines© Photo: PA

Prince Harry follows in Princess Diana's footsteps at Angolan landmine

The Duke of Sussex carried out a solo engagement on day 5 of the royal tour

Chloe Best
Lifestyle Features Editor
Updated: September 27, 2019
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The Duke of Sussex retraced his late mother Princess Diana's footsteps on Friday, as he visited a partially cleared minefield in Angola on day five of the royal tour. Prince Harry donned body armour and a protective visor for the engagement, which was to highlight the ongoing threat of the munitions in Angola, the same nation Diana visited in 1997 to urge the world to ban the weapons.

Prince Harry detonates landmine in Angola | Hello

WATCH: Prince Harry detonates a landmine in Angola

The 36-year-old walked into an area that was once an artillery base for anti-government forces who had mined the position in 2000 before retreating. He was learning about the efforts of Halo Trust staff working to clear large areas of the country of military munitions.

Prince Harry landmine walk© Photo: PA

Prince Harry visited a partially cleared minefield in Angola on Friday

Jose Antonio, a regional manager for the landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust, took Harry onto the site where his staff have been working since August to make it safe, and where they hope they can complete their clearance by the end of October. The Duke walked through an area of the site looking at the marked off areas which potentially could contain landmines. An anti-personnel mine had been discovered earlier and Harry was asked to set it off with a controlled explosion to safely destroy the decades-old weapon.

Prince Harry landmine Angola© Photo: PA

The Duke visited Angola on day 5 of the royal tour

RELATED: Why Prince Harry will not recreate Princess Diana's iconic landmine photo during Africa tour

The engagement comes 22 years after Prince Harry's late mother walked through a partially cleared minefield in the African nation, with the photos of her visit quickly becoming iconic. But Harry won’t be recreating that famous image – the area that was once a dangerous minefield in 1997 is now a busy street with schools, shops and houses.

Princess Diana Angola landmine© Photo: Getty Images

The area Princess Diana visited in 1997 is now a thriving street

Prince Harry will have the opportunity to see the same area she visited to see how it has thrived since the landmines were cleared. It is sure to be a poignant visit for the Duke, as his mother never saw her work to help outlaw mines come to fruition as she died in August 1997 a few months before the international treaty to ban the military weapons was signed.

MORE: Prince Harry reveals how Africa was his escape after Princess Diana's death

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