I saw a Sussex Squad tweet yesterday suggesting that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were traveling outside of the US in the past week, perhaps with their kids, and that the British press had not gotten any information about their travels. I have no idea if any of that is true, but it looks like the Daily Mail managed to trace Prince Harry’s movements this week. Apparently, Harry flew into Angola today or Monday, and he’s planning to do some events on behalf of the HALO Trust. Harry has been patron of the HALO Trust for years. His late mother famously worked with the anti-landmine charity in her final year, and Diana walked along a mined path in Angola just a few months before her death in Paris.
Prince Harry has today landed in Angola to walk across explosive landmine sites for his charity the Halo Trust. It’s a walk his late mother, Princess Diana, did 28 years ago for the same British NGO. Prince Harry is not joined by his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, after he decided it was too dangerous for her to join him.
A source said: ‘The duke won’t let his wife go to England over security concerns, so there was no chance he’d allow her to go to Angola to walk across landmines.’
Harry’s solo adventure will see him land at Luanda airport and from there he will proceed to take a series of small two-person planes to the site of the mines he intends to walk across. He is hoping the publicity surrounding his visit will encourage more donations from the Angolan government.
A source told the MailOnline: ‘Usually these trips help to drive a bit more money from the government.’
In 2019, when Harry came on board as Halo’s patron, the Angolan government pledged £46million to create wildlife corridors and protect endangered species in conservation areas. It set a target of clearing all landmines by 2025 and Harry is said to hope that his presence there will boost efforts to meet the target.
Halo has cleared more than 123,000 landmines since 1994, and works to transform former war zones into farmland, national parks and ‘safe’ villages. Harry is hoping to recreate the iconic images his mother, the late Princess Diana, created in 1997 when she took a walk through a minefield wearing a Halo Trust flak jacket and helmet. But it is not a sight we are likely to see recreated by Harry’s wife Meghan.
Sources say that as well as being wary of the dangers for her, the Duke of Sussex is keen to keep his work with Halo close to his chest. A source added: ‘Halo is really his thing, it means so much to him to be patron and he just wants to keep his work with them to himself.’
It is thought a speech is planned for later today – but Halo, with Harry’s blessing, has banned any British press from attending the event. Nevertheless, the trip will not fail to garner worldwide headlines.
I laughed at “Halo, with Harry’s blessing, has banned any British press from attending the event.” Harry has struck similar deals with foreign governments and other charities when traveling – Nigeria didn’t give press credentials or visas to any British journalist during the Sussexes’ trip last year. Colombia also blocked British reporters from the Sussexes’ events during their trip. Anyway, good for Harry, I’m glad he’s traveling and working. I kind of wonder if Meghan and the kids are actually somewhere close-by, and if they’re traveling as a family during the kids’ summer vacation.
Photos from Harry’s 2019 trip to Angola, courtesy of Avalon Red.
