Prince Harry meets Angolan landmine victim who stole Diana's heart 22 years ago

28 September 2019, 01:14 | Updated: 1 September 2020, 11:52

Prince Harry has met a landmine victim who brought his mother to tears 22 years ago
Prince Harry has met a landmine victim who brought his mother to tears 22 years ago. Picture: PA

By Kate Buck

A landmine victim who brought Diana to tears during their meeting 22 years ago has told the Duke of Sussex she named her daughter after his late mother.

Sandra Thijika, was famously pictured sitting on Diana's knee, during the Princess of Wales' trip to Angola in 1997.

Ms Thijika met Prince Harry for the first time today, and described the encounter as a continuation of a long and beautiful story.

The princess had not only walked through a partially cleared minefield in Angola to raise awareness about the issue of the weapons, but spent time with people maimed by the munitions laid during a bloody civil war.

Speaking about Angola's £48 million pledge to invest in the work of the landmine clearing charity Halo Trust in the country, the duke told Ms Thijika: "I know you will never get your leg back, but I hope with the president's contribution...you will have some peace of mind."

The mother told the duke she had five children, and the royal seemed taken aback and asked for their ages and she told him, speaking through an interpreter: "I have a daughter I named her after Diana."

Sandra Thijika told Prince Harry she has named her daughter after his late mother
Sandra Thijika told Prince Harry she has named her daughter after his late mother. Picture: PA
Princess Diana met Sandra Thijika in 1997
Princess Diana met Sandra Thijika in 1997. Picture: Getty

Harry told her: "Your children will be growing up to your age and there won't be any landmines."

In response to Harry's pledge, the 38-year-old said: "I'm very happy to hear him say that, it feels like the work in Angola will continue and we will be landmine free."

Speaking about her encounter with the Harry's mother, Ms Thijika said: "I think I met Princess Diana on a Tuesday, she came to the centre 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.

"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 honour to be sitting next to a princess."

Prince Harry is currently in Africa on a royal tour
Prince Harry is currently in Africa on a royal tour. Picture: PA

Ms Thijika was a special guest at a reception hosted by Jessica Hand, Britain's Ambassador to Angola, at her official residence in Luanda.

She said about meeting Harry: "This is a long story and this is a beautiful story because I've come out of the province to meet Diana's son, so 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."

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

An investigation team inspects the wreckage of Air India flight 171 a day after it crashed in a residential area near the airport, in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025.

Fuel to engines on doomed Air India plane 'cut off' moments before crash killed 260, report finds

The US has held 'positive' talks with Zelenskyy

Trump confirms plans to send US air defence systems to Ukraine

Platja de Palma, Majorca, Mediterranean Sea, Balearic Islands, Spain, Southern Europe

Blow for holidaymakers in Mallorca as tourists slapped with swimming ban and popular beaches forced to close

Women mourn at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, where the victims of an Israeli strike which hit the Mustafa Hafez school, sheltering Palestinians displaced by the war, were brough

At least 789 people killed while receiving aid in Gaza, UN human rights office says

Carolina Wilga, 26, was found by a member of the public walking near the edge of a remote and rugged nature reserve after her van was discovered abandoned deep in the bush.

'Nothing short of remarkable': Backpacker Carolina Wilga found alive after 12 days in Australian outback

A teenager has died after being buried alive when a sand tunnel he was digging on a beach in Italy suddenly caved in.

Teenager suffocates to death after sand tunnel he built collapses on top of him

The woman drowned after being swept away by strong waves in Roda resort beach, Corfu Island, Greece.

Brit mum, 50, drowns in Corfu in front of husband and teenage son after being swept away by strong waves

Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is  suing Trump administration for $20m.

'It felt like kidnapping': Palestinian activist detained by ICE suing Donald Trump administration for $20m

Parts of an Air India plane that crashed on Thursday are seen on top of a building in Ahmedabad, India, Friday, June 13, 2025.

Investigators look into Air India's vital engine switches after plane crash killed 270 people

A top Ukrainian intelligence officer has been shot dead.

Ukrainian intelligence officer accused of sabotage attacks in Russia shot dead in Kyiv

A hospital has reported that children queuing for supplements have been killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza.

10 children queuing for nutritional supplements killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, hospital says

Jota and his brother died in a car crash last week.

'You have my word they weren’t speeding': Truck driver who filmed Diogo Jota car crash aftermath disputes police report

Mr Trump asked where Joseph Boakai learned to speak "so beautifully" at a White House meeting with West African leaders on Wednesday.

Donald Trump compliments Liberian President's 'beautiful' English - the country's official language

A mother with her twins walks outside of their house which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine

Two killed and 14 injured as Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv following Moscow's largest-ever aerial strike

Palestinians facing food shortages gather to receive the humanitarian aid to be delivered through the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip on July 02

Gaza permanent ceasefire is 'questionable', says senior Israeli official as Trump insists it's 'possible'

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, centerm arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review his arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korea's ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol rearrested