Why Meghan Markle Wasn’t With Prince Harry During His Angola Landmine Walk

THE RUNDOWN

• Prince Harry visited Angola this week, recreating his mother Princess Diana’s landmine walk to advocate for the HALO Trust and a mine-free future for the country.
• Meghan Markle didn’t join him, in part due to security concerns, according to a source.
• A friend of the couple previously explained why Harry and Meghan have been doing more events separately.

This week, Prince Harry made an official visit to Angola, where he met with local leaders and recreated his mother Princess Diana’s landmine walk to advocate for a mine-free future. He used his trip to bring attention to the HALO Trust, a U.K. charity that helps clears landmines, the same way Diana did in 1997. You can see footage of Harry’s walk here.

Meghan Markle didn’t join him, remaining out of the spotlight this week. A source told Daily Mail that Harry’s decision to do the trip on his own was primarily due to security concerns.

“The Duke [of Sussex] won’t let his wife go to England over security concerns, so there was no chance he’d allow her to go to Angola to walk across landmines,” the source said.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their Nigeria trip in May 2024.

In October, a friend of the couple spoke to People about why Harry and Meghan were doing more events separately. “It’s clear that a twin-track approach is evolving,” they explained. “An entrepreneurial and enterprise focus is going to be more the Duchess’s priority and the Duke will continue to champion his not-for-profit patronages. But there will be joint efforts around those cause-driven areas of work.”

The friend added that their kids, Archie and Lilibet, also influenced the choice: The shift is “as much a reflection on parenting priorities, in that one of them stays behind with the children,” the source said.

In a statement shared to Harry and Meghan’s website, Harry spoke about his experience participating in a landmine safety education session in Mawano, where he gave instructions to children on how to spot and avoid landmines.

“As a father to young children, it breaks my heart to see innocent children still living and playing next to minefields,” he said. “All of us have a duty to protect children and future generations from the harms of war, both present and past.” Read more about his visit here.