Prince Harry recreates famous Princess Diana photo in Angola minefield 22 years later

Francesca Specter
·Yahoo Style UK deputy editor

Prince Harry walked through a minefield in Angola on Friday morning, following in the footsteps of his mother Princess Diana.

The Duke of Sussex, 35, wore body armor and a protective visor as he walked through the partially cleared minefield in Dirico to highlight the ongoing threat of land mines in the region.

It comes 22 years after the late Princess of Wales made headlines globally following a minefield walk in the same country in January 1997.

Britain's Prince Harry walks through a minefield in Dirico, Angola Friday Sept. 27, 2019, during a visit to see the work of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust, on day five of the royal tour of Africa. Prince Harry is following in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana, whose walk through an active mine field in Angola years ago helped to lead to a global ban on the deadly weapons. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)
Britain's Prince Harry walks through a minefield in Dirico, Angola on day five of the royal tour of Africa. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)

The duke joined British charity The HALO Trust on Friday – the same charity that his mother accompanied during her iconic minefield visit more than two decades ago.

PA NEWS : 15/1/97 : DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES, WEARS A PROTECTIVE JACKET AS SHE WALKS NEXT TO THE EDGE OF A MINEFIELD IN ANGOLA, DURING HER VISIT TO SEE THE WORK OF THE BRITISH RED CROSS. (PHOTO BY JOHN STILLWELL ). 11/07/03 : The future of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund set up after her death is under threat. It has frozen all its grants to beneficiaries and been forced to approach other charities in a bid to keep its own projects going. The fund s crisis follows a protracted legal battle with the US company, the Franklin Mint. In June 2000 the Memorial Fund lost a court battle in the US against the firm in which they failed to stop the company making products bearing the Princess s image. The battle led to a 4 million legal bill for the fund. (Photo by John Stillwell - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
Diana, Princess of Wales wearing a bombproof visor during her 1997 visit to a minefield in Huambo, in Angola. (Photo by John Stillwell - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

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.

An Instagram post shared on the Sussex Royal account on Friday said Prince Harry was “humbled to be visiting a place and a community that was so special to his mother.”

Prince Harry was escorted on the site by Jose Antonio, a regional manager for The HALO Trust. He was also given safety instructions before walking and was told to stay within the clear lanes. He was also advised not to touch anything or run.

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

Towards the end of his visit, the duke set off a decades-old mine, which had been discovered earlier that day, in a controlled explosion to safely destroy it.

DIRICO, ANGOLA - SEPTEMBER 27: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex with Jose Antonio (C), of the Halo Trust and a mine clearance worker on a walk through of a minefield in Dirico, during a visit to see the work of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust, on day five of the royal tour of Africa on September 27, 2019 in Dirico, Angola. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski - Pool /Getty Images)
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex with Jose Antonio (C), of the HALO Trust and a mine clearance worker on a walk through a minefield in Dirico, during a visit to see the work of land mine clearance charity the Halo Trust. [Photo: Getty]

A photo was also posted of Princess Diana on the Sussex Royal Instagram account acknowledging that Prince Harry was retracing “his mother’s steps to see the legacy of her work.”

The Duchess of Sussex, who accompanied Harry overseas for their 10-day royal tour, stayed in South Africa with four-month-old son Archie. The family will reunite in Johannesburg on Tuesday following Harry’s visit to Malawi this weekend.

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