Prince Harry spoke of a conversation with his son Archie about Princess Diana's famous landmine walk on January 15, 1997 in Angola. Photo / Composite / Getty Images
Prince Harry spoke of a conversation with his son Archie about Princess Diana's famous landmine walk on January 15, 1997 in Angola. Photo / Composite / Getty Images
Prince Harry has revealed how he and his 5-year-old son, Prince Archie, opened up a dialogue about Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, and her famous walk through an Angolan minefield.
The Duke of Sussex is currently at the Invictus Games, the competition he founded for injured, sick and wounded military personnel and veterans, in Canada.
Speaking to CTV while attending a wheelchair basketball game, Harry revealed how a conversation with his eldest child, Prince Archie, about the devastating impact of landmines led to an unexpected chat about his beloved mother and her iconic walk in Angola in 1997.
Prince Harry and Meghan deliver remarks at the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 Nation Home Welcome Reception on February 7, 2025 in Vancouver, Canada. Photo / Getty Images
“It’s hard because kids don’t always ask the right questions, so you either shut it down right away, which I will never do, or you engage in the conversation and try to explain things,” he told the TV network.
“Archie was asking about landmines, so I was talking about how some of these guys were blown up.
“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 5 years old.
“Interestingly, it gave me a chance to talk about my mum, his grandma, which I didn’t even really consider so that became the outcome of the story for him.
“He wanted to see videos and photographs of his grandma Diana out doing her thing for landmines all those years ago.
“It produced a very interesting conversation between me and him, different to what I thought it would be.”
Diana, Princess of Wales, walked with body armour and a visor on the minefields during a visit to Huambo, Angola on January 15, 1997. Photo / Getty Images
Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex - who are also parents to 3-year-old Princess Lilibet - spent the weekend in Vancouver before travelling to Whistler, where winter sports are being held for the first time in the history of the games.
At a welcoming ceremony in the ski resort, the prince was introduced to the stage by his friend and Canadian pop icon, Michael Bublé.
After performing his 2005 hit Feeling Good, Bublé announced: “Without the incredible effort of this young man none of this would have happened, so please welcome my friend, Prince Harry”.
“Well, thank God Michael Bublé sang. Can you imagine bringing him out here and him saying, ‘You know what? I didn’t come here to sing ...’ Thank you for the introduction,” Harry responded.
He then thanked his “ginger friend”, Mayor of Whistler Jack Crompton, and joked: “Are there any other gingers in the house?”
He added: “Thank you all so much for the love and support for these incredible athletes. You all came up here knowing you were going to get cold, so thank you for the support”.
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".
