Prince Harry has made a surprise trip without Meghan Markle to Angola with one of his charities – and one expert believes it speaks volumes about how he regards his work five years after quitting the Royal Family
Prince Harry’s unannounced trip to Angola to follow in the footsteps of his late mother certainly caused surprise. It was only revealed that Harry was in the African country, where he visited a minefield, echoing a visit by Princess Diana shortly before her death, after he landed earlier this week.
He travelled to Angola as a patron of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust and spoke to families in a remote village near Africa’s largest minefield while there. Harry made the trip solo, leaving Meghan at home in California with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, with sources citing safety concerns over why the Duke of Sussex made the visit alone.
It also proves a marked change from the work Harry first started pursuing after he and Meghan quit their royal roles and chased entertainment deals with the likes of Netflix and Spotify.
But for royal expert Jennie Bond, this type of work, such as highlighting the scourge of landmines, is the type of work Harry is best placed to carry out.
The former BBC royal correspondent told the Mirror : “I think this is precisely the sort of work that Harry should do. It is not only a hugely worthwhile cause, but it also connects him with his mother, which is something he yearns for.
“I think he is coming to recognise that the LA celebrity world is one in which he is not especially comfortable. And he seems quite willing to let Meghan take the limelight over there. He speaks frequently about a life of service, and trips like this certainly serve a very good cause indeed.”
On the trip, Harry was highlighting the threat of the munitions in Angola, the same nation Diana, Princess of Wales, visited in 1997 to urge the world to ban the weapons. 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.
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.
And Jennie added: “I was with Diana in Angola all those years ago, and the impact she made by walking across a minefield was enormous. She told me that she was simply trying to be a humanitarian, and that is something Harry can also aspire to.
“I remember her befriending a 13-year-old girl called Sandra as she went through the pain of having yet another prosthetic limb fitted. Her leg had been blown off by a landmine. Years later, Harry met Sandra in Angola and reflected on all his mother had done.
“Sadly, despite all the publicity the Princess’s trip engendered for the cause, landmines remain a scourge in Angola. So I think it’s brilliant that Harry is continuing her work – and keeping her memory alive.”
Meanwhile, Harry, who also echoed Diana in a 2019 visit to an Angolan minefield, said: “Children should never have to live in fear of playing outside or walking to school. Here in Angola, over three decades later, the remnants of war still threaten lives every day.”
It is estimated that at least 60,000 people have been killed or injured by landmines in Angola since 2008, the Halo Trust said. The trust has cleared more than 120,000 landmines and 100,000 bombs from the country. Diana spoke out against the sale and use of landmines and famously called for an international ban on them during her 1997 trip.
On Harry’s latest trip, the Halo Trust said: “This renewed commitment builds on previous support from the Angolan government, which was first highlighted when the duke visited the country in 2019 to retrace the path of his late mother. That visit showcased how once-dangerous land could be transformed into a safe and thriving community.”