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Prince Harry has emotional meeting with Angolan landmine survivor 22 years after she brought Princess Diana to tears

One of the survivors she met was then 13-year-old Sandra Thijica, who was pictured sitting on Princess Diana's knee before getting fitted with a prosthetic
UPDATED MAR 20, 2020
Prince Harry (Source : Getty Images)
Prince Harry (Source : Getty Images)

In 1997, on her visit to Angola, Princess Diana walked through a landmine field in Huambo, riddled with warning signs. She wore protective clothing and a visor and met with landmine survivors to raise awareness about the issue.

One of the survivors she met was then 13-year-old Sandra Thijica, who was pictured sitting on Princess Diana's knee before getting fitted with a prosthetic.

Now, 22 years later, during Prince Harry's and Duchess Meghan Markle's royal tour of Africa, Diana's son followed in his late mother's footsteps as he donned protective gear and walked through the de-mining site in Dirico, Angola, and remotely detonated a landmine.

Prince Harry opened a hospital in Luanda during his visit, that was renamed in his mother's honor. The duke also met with the now 35-year-old Thijica, who is a mother of five children and has named one of her children Diana. 

Thijica spoke about her meeting with the late Princess Diana in 1997. Meeting Prince Harry made her feel complete, she said and added, "I think I met Princess Diana on a Tuesday, she came to the center and she wanted to see how a change of prosthetic limb was done."

"At that time I was very small, I was a very tiny girl and they started measuring my knee so they could see how the prosthetic would fit. Princess Diana was watching this process and she started crying as she watched me getting measured for a new prosthetic," she recalled.

"After they measured my knee we went outside and we sat by a fig tree and she was speaking to me and I felt very happy, I felt very complete to have the attention of a princess. It was an honor to be sitting next to a princess," Thijica shared.



 

When Harry spoke to Thijica, he told her, "Your children will be growing up to your age and there won't be any landmines", to which she responded that she was very happy.

She shared that, "it feels like the work in Angola will continue and we will be landmine free." Sandra added, "This is a long story and this is a beautiful story because I've come out of the province to meet Diana's son."

"This is putting the focus on all of us who have physical disabilities. So it's good for Angola that the world can see we need help that we need help and much can be done for us," Thijica added. 

At a major meeting on landmines held in London in June, Harry had said that his experience "showed me the importance of landmine clearance within a humanitarian emergency because, let’s not forget, landmines are a humanitarian issue — not a political one".

During his visit, Harry walked through a different route, as the route used by Princess Diana is now a street filled with shops and schools thanks to her work.

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