Prince Harry has revealed that he has shown his five-year-old son, Prince Archie, the famous footage of Princess Diana walking through a minefield in Angola – one of the most defining moments of her humanitarian work.
Speaking at the Invictus Games on Sunday, the Duke of Sussex, 40, shared that young Archie had recently expressed curiosity about landmines, prompting a heartfelt conversation about Diana’s legacy.
During an interview at a wheelchair basketball game, he told Canadian broadcaster CTV: ‘It’s hard because kids don’t always ask the right questions.
‘You either shut it down right away, which I will never do, or you engage in the conversation and try to explain things.
‘Archie was asking about landmines so I was talking about how some of these guys were blown up’.
The father-of-two admitted he was initially unsure how to discuss the dangers of landmines with his young son but found himself recounting stories of those affected by them.
‘I think IEDs [Improvised Explosive Devices] are probably a little much at this point, but I found myself talking to him about mines when he was five-years-old,’ he said.
However, what began as a discussion about landmines soon turned into a poignant moment of reflection on Princess Diana.
Diana, Princess of Wales wearing protective body armour and a visor visits a landmine minefield being cleared by the charity Halo in Huambo, Angola
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pose with their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor during a photocall in St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle on May 8, 2019 in Windsor, England
Prince Harry during the opening ceremonies of the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver
The Duke of Sussex , 40, shared that young Archie had recently expressed curiosity about landmines, prompting a heartfelt conversation about Diana’s legacy
‘Interestingly, it gave me a chance to talk about my mum, his grandma, which I didn’t even really consider,’ Harry explained.
‘He wanted to see videos and photographs of her out there doing her thing for landmines all those years ago.
‘It produced a very interesting conversation, different from what I thought it would be.’
Diana’s visit to Angola in 1997 as a guest of the International Red Cross became one of the most powerful humanitarian images of the time.
Donning protective gear, she famously walked through a minefield on the outskirts of Huambo, highlighting the devastating impact of landmines left behind after Angola’s brutal 20-year civil war.
Just months after her tragic death in August 1997, Diana’s work contributed to a landmark global ban on landmines.
Prince Harry, who has continued his mother’s legacy, retraced her footsteps during a visit to Angola in 2019.
Wearing body armor and a protective visor, he walked the same path in Huambo where Diana had been photographed, now a thriving community free of landmines.
Reflecting on that emotional moment, he said at the time: ‘It has been quite emotional retracing my mother’s steps… to see the transformation that has taken place, from an unsafe and desolate place into a vibrant community.’
Now, it seems Prince Harry is passing down that legacy to the next generation, ensuring that Archie understands the remarkable impact of the grandmother he never got to meet.
Harry has been joined by Meghan in Canada for the seventh edition of the Invictus Games, which he founded in 2014 for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.
