Prince of a Guy

Prince Harry is "irritated" by the reluctance of some countries to assist financially with clearing landmines in countries like Angola, one of his charities has revealed.

Harry's mother Diana, Princess of Wales, visited Angola
in 1997

The Prince is following in the footsteps of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, by taking up the cause of clearing landmines from African countries scarred by years of conflict.

HALO Trust chief executive Guy Willoughby told Sky News that Harry has been frustrated by the lack of progress on the issue in some areas.

He said: "The Prince has got quite a bee in his bonnet about it, and that's good.

"He is irritated that the countries which supplied these landmines are not actually putting in any funds to clear them, 25 years on."

Harry travelled to Angola last week to see mine clearance projects run by The HALO Trust. The 28-year old is Patron of the Trust's 25th Anniversary Appeal. 

Harry visited the most heavily mined town in
Africa during his trip

 During the visit, the Prince met de-mining teams and toured minefields in the Angolan town of Cuito Cuanavale, the most heavily mined town in Africa.

"People love having Prince Harry here because he's so engaged and because he's technically minded. He just gets it, from what the de-miners are trying to do, to the latest technology", added Mr Willoughby.

Diana, Princess of Wales, made a controversial visit to Angola in support of The HALO Trust in the months before she died in 1997.

She called for an international ban on landmines and was accused of being a "loose cannon", meddling in politics. Asked whether the Prince will court similar criticism should he take on the countries who he believes are falling short of their obligations, Mr Willoughby said: "I don't know. Whether by nailing his colours to the mast he court the same criticism as his mother did, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

In photos from his Angola trip, Harry is seen talking with members of a de-mining team, surrounding a Russian TM-57 anti-tank mine. In another, he is seen standing next to a South African Olifant tank destroyed in the battle for Cuito Cuanavale in 1988. Since 1988 The HALO Trust has found and destroyed  more than 1.4 million landmines and more than 11 million items of large calibre ordnance, including 195,000 cluster bombs.

Mr Willoughby said: "The commitment shown by Prince Harry plays an invaluable role in helping us to raise awareness of HALO's work and mission. "Wars may be over but many people are still unable to resume their normal lives, facing the threat of death or injury by landmines every day."