Prince Harry paid tribute to his late mother as he formally opened a hospital renamed in her honour, saying her memory is with him ‘daily’.
The royal was visiting the Orthopaedic Centre in Huambo, where Princess Diana had been before him in 1997.
Recently renovated, it aims to become Angola’s national centre of excellence in orthopaedic care.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the occasion, Harry described the visit as a ‘deeply personal’ one said said his mother would have been delighted to see how the hospital had developed since her visit, when it was filled with landmine victims.
"It has been an honour to re-trace my mother’s steps today. I lost her 22 years ago but her memory is with me daily and her legacy lives on. Which is why I am so happy to name this centre the Princess Diana Orthopaedic Centre."
During a tour of the centre he stopped off to view the rehabilitation room and watch led the making of prosthetic limbs in a workshop, where he met with two members who were working at the Centre when Princess Diana visited.
He then sent a few minutes in the paediatric unit where he was entranced by Barnaby Jose Mar, six, who was practicing walking with the help of a double bar along with his friend Francisco Xavier, five, and carrying an Union flag.
Barnaby, his mother later explained, was born with a paralysis and has trouble holding himself and controlling his limbs.
But he seemed delighted to see Harry, who hunkered down on his knees to make eye contact with the little boy, before encouraging him to fist bump.
His mother said later that she was ‘incredibly shocked’ to see the prince and hadn’t known what to say.
During his visit Harry also unveiled a new sign for the front of the hospital and posed with a plaque to mark his visit.
The Centre, the first hospital specialising in orthopaedic rehabilitation in Angola, provides essential support to the local community and province, treating those injured by mines, accidents and affected by illnesses.
Harry had an emotional meeting with a landmine victim who met Diana when she was 15 years old.
Justina Cesar [acute accent on e] lost her right leg when she was three years old.
At the orthopaedic hospital the duke greeted her with a warm hug, and asked: “I think you were 15 at the time - do you remember meeting my mother?”
Speaking afterwards, Ms Cesar, 38, said that she had no idea who Diana was when she visited the orthopaedic centre in 1997.
“People just said she was a princess. They asked us to come and meet her. But they did not say how important she was.
“She greeted us, and laid her hand on my brow. I was so happy about that. She was very special.”
When she learned that Diana had died, “I felt a mighty sadness. Someone who cared very much for mine victims had gone.
“But I was very happy that Diana’s son had come to continue the work that she had started.
“I am so happy. This is a very special day. I had so much to say to him, but I could barely speak.”
Ms Cesar, who has three children and works as a government clerk, said she gave Harry a copy of her project to help landmine victims. “I would like him to sponsor it,” she said.
