Prince Harry on how walking through minefield made him feel ‘closer to mum Princess Diana’
Diana walked through a minefield on this day in 1997Prince Harry once opened up about how one of his most dangerous acts as a royal made him feel “closer” to his late mother, Princess Diana.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, made the confession in his autobiography, Spare, which came out in early 2023.
On this day (January 15) in 1997, Princess Diana stunned the world by walking through a minefield in Angola, Africa.
Princess Diana’s historic walk through a minefield in 1997
The dangerous walk was done during her four-day trip to the country in early 1997.
The late princess also remotely detonated a live landmine. After successfully detonating it, she said: “One down, 17 million to go.”
Taking up her cause, detonating a landmine myself, made me feel closer to her and gave me strength and hope.
At the time, her actions made headlines all across the world and marked the beginning of her mission to have weapons banned across the world.
Speaking about her mission, Diana said: “All I am trying to do is help. I am trying to highlight a problem that is going on all around the world, that’s all.”
In 2013, 16 years on from her walk through a minefield, Prince Harry quite literally followed in her footsteps, walking through a minefield in Angola.
Prince Harry walking through minefield years on from Diana
In 2019, during his trip to Africa with wife Meghan Markle, the Duke of Sussex once again recreated his mother’s journey through the minefield.
In his 2023 autobiography, Spare, Harry spoke of how the walk made him feel “closer” to his late mother.
“Taking up her cause, detonating a landmine myself, made me feel closer to her and gave me strength and hope,” he wrote.
“I was deeply frustrated to learn from the charity’s executives and fieldworkers that the job she’d spotlighted, indeed the entire global crusade my mother had helped launch, was now stalled,” he then continued.
He put this “stalling” down to a “lack of resources, lack of resolve”.
However, Harry also found the trip to be a “psychological, emotional minefield”. He struggled with his mental health as a result of the experience.
Prince Harry and Meghan pay surprise visit to wildfire victims
In more recent Prince Harry news, the Duke of Sussex and Meghan have been helping out in LA amid the wildfires.
Fires have been devastating LA and parts of Southern California this month. Thousands have lost their homes – whilst some have even lost their lives.
Though Harry and Meghan’s home in Montecito hasn’t been affected, they have made an effort to help those who have been affected.
The royal couple made a surprise visit to the Pasadena Convention Center in California last week to help distribute food parcels.
“They really buoyed the spirits of the first responders,” Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo gushed afterward.
“We visited the command post at the Rose Bowl, and people were very happy to see them.”
In the wake of the wildfires, Meghan also announced that her new Netflix show’s release date has been pushed back. It was originally meant to air today. However, it will now air on March 4.
Read more: Princess Diana’s most controversial moments and the times that broke royal tradition
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