Prince Harry will fulfil his mother’s legacy by opening a hospital renamed after Princess Diana in honour of her work to have landmines outlawed, during his royal tour of Africa this week.
Harry, 35, arrived in South Africa with Meghan, 38, and their four-month-old baby Archie for the first day of their official 10-day tour today, which will focus on wildlife protection, entrepreneurship, mental health and mine clearance.
And on Friday the royal will reportedly visit the Huambo Orthopaedic Centre in Angola, which Diana toured in 1997 when she was 36 – the same year she died – to reopen it, after it was named in her honour following a revamp.
In January 1997 Diana famously walked through a a landmine minefield that was being cleared by the charity Halo Trust in Huambo to highlight the plight of those maimed by military munitions, and her campaign for a global ban on mines resulted in the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention being introduced later that year.
Prince Harry will fulfil his mother’s legacy by opening a hospital renamed after Princess Diana in honour of her work to have landmines outlawed, during his royal tour of Africa this week. Pictured: In January 1997 Diana famously walked through a a landmine minefield that was being cleared by the charity Halo Trust in Huambo, to highlight the plight of those maimed by military munitions
Harry will visit the same area to complete the work Diana started before her tragic death, attending the opening ceremony of the hospital dedicated to helping victims of landmines.
A senior Palace source said: ‘This is all about wanting to fulfil his mother’s legacy.’
‘This tour will see the Duke and Duchess go back to basics, using their profile in the right way to highlight causes they are both passionate about.’
Prince Harry’s private secretary Samantha Cohen added: ‘In a particularly significant and poignant journey, the Duke of Sussex will have the opportunity to return to Angola to see first-hand the legacy of his mother the late Diana, Princess of Wales, whose visit to Huambo in 1997 helped raise awareness of the threat posed by land mines to communities and livelihoods.
‘The work of the late princess, and commitment to this issue, changed global opinion. Now, more than two decades later, humanitarian de-mining work continues and the Angolan government has made a significant financial commitment to clearing land mines from another large area important for conservation of Angola’s unique ecosystem.’
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, was signed in December 1997 – four months after Diana’s death.
On Friday the royal will reportedly visit the Huambo Orthopaedic Centre in Angola for an opening ceremony. Harry and Meghan are seen during their Australia tour last year
Diana, Princess of Wales, talks to amputee, 13-year-old Sandra Thijica, at the Neves Bendinha Orthopedic Workshop near Luanda, Angola in 1997
On Monday they are spending the first day of their 10-day, multi-country tour in Cape Town, visiting girls’ empowerment projects and former residents of the District Six community.
The vibrant mixed-race community was relocated from the inner city during South Africa’s harsh period of apartheid, or white minority rule.
The royal couple’s visit also will focus on wildlife protection, entrepreneurship, mental health and mine clearance – a topic given global attention by Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, when she walked through an active mine field during an Africa visit years ago.
The couple are visiting Africa from September 23 to October 2, and while Meghan and Archie spend the duration in South Africa, Harry will leave his family to tour Angola, Malawi and Botswana before being reunited with them in Johannesburg. They are pictured in Fiji last October
The couple are visiting Africa from September 23 to October 2, and while Meghan and Archie spend the duration in South Africa, Harry will leave his family to tour Angola, Malawi and Botswana before being reunited with them in Johannesburg.
Harry will travel to Angola on Friday, to pay homage to the work of his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, campaigning for landmines to be outlawed during a visit she made to the country in 1997.
He will also pay tribute to a British soldier killed by an elephant during anti-poaching operations in Malawi when he visits the country on September 30, to focus attention on efforts to protect endangered animals.
A post about the tour on the royal couple’s official Instagram account said: ‘The duke is especially proud to continue the legacy left by his mother with her work in Angola as he joins Halo Trust again in an effort to rid the world of landmines.’
Harry and Meghan are seen at the Lion King premiere this summer. Harry will travel to Angola on Friday, to pay homage to the work of his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, campaigning for landmines to be outlawed during a visit she made to the country in 1997
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: ‘The Duke of Sussex’s love for Africa is well known; he first visited the continent at the age of 13 and more than two decades later, the people, culture, wildlife and resilient communities continue to inspire and motivate him every day.’
Meghan, who is making her first visit to South Africa, and Harry both admire South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela and have already met members of his family in the UK.
Towards the end of their visit they will be introduced to the statesman’s widow Graca Machel, who met the duke when he visited South Africa in 2015, and have an audience with President Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife Tshepo Motsepe.