Prince Harry Retraces 1997 Africa Visit by His Mother

By Simon Perry

08/10/2013 at 10:05 AM EDT

Prince Harry and Princess Diana in Angola, 1997

Getty; AP

Prince Harry is spending his weekend retracing some of the memorable steps his mother Diana took only six months before her death in 1997 as he journeys to an African country plagued by landmines.

The Palace on Friday described the trip as "a personal and private visit."

While in Angola on Saturday, Harry "is visiting a number of demining teams across the region and will be touring minefields and meeting with beneficiaries of HALO's work," said Guy Willoughby, CEO of the charitable HALO trust, which specializes in the removal of the hazardous debris of war.

Harry, 28, is patron of the HALO Trust's 25th anniversary appeal, just as Diana was a staunch supporter. On her trip, she visited the towns of Huambo and Kuito, and Angola, which helped raise international awareness of the human suffering caused by landmines in the region.

One stop on Harry's itinerary that his mother also made is Cuito Cuanavale (pop. 43,000), thought to be the most-mined town in Africa.

Since Diana's visit, HALO has cleared minefields, and the areas are now the center of two bustling cities.