Prince Harry Says ‘Much Has Changed in My Life’ in the Past Five Years

Prince Harry is making his mark in New York City for a charity closely associated with Princess Diana‘s legacy.

On Sept. 23, the Duke of Sussex, 40, stepped out for an event supporting The HALO Trust. The humanitarian group, which is at work in over 30 countries and territories around the world to clear landmines and debris of war, gained international acclaim when the late Princess of Wales walked through an active landmine in Huambo, Angola, in 1997 to call for an international ban.

The HALO Trust notes that “countless thousands of lives have been saved by the 1997 global landmine ban” that followed the princess’ visit, and her son Harry has continued her legacy through involvement with The HALO Trust. 

As his mother’s name and legacy surrounding this work was mentioned at the Sept. 23 event in N.Y.C., Prince Harry looked visibly moved.

“As you know, The HALO Trust work in Angola meant a great deal to my mother,” Prince Harry said during his remarks at the event. “Carrying on her legacy is a responsibility that I take incredibly seriously.”

Of his own visit to Angola five years ago, “Much has changed in my life and the world since 2019 when I first visited,” Harry said. “In those five years, I’ve become a father for the second time. And while you don’t need children to have a stake in the future of our planet, I do know that my mother would have been horrified that anyone’s children or grandchildren would live in a world still infested with mines.”

The Duke of Sussex memorably retraced his late mother’s footsteps at the same site in 2019 during a tour of Africa with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their son Prince Archie, now 5. The former landmine field became a vibrant community with several colleges, schools and small businesses. “The Diana Tree” marked the spot where she was photographed in a flak jacket and face shield, just like one her son wore 22 years later.

Prince Harry has used his platform to draw attention to the continued mission of The HALO Trust both before and since the Angola trip. The Duke of Sussex pledged his support to make the world free of landmines by 2025 in a powerful speech at Kensington Palace on International Mine Awareness Day in 2017, and video chatted with The HALO Trust team working in Ukraine in March 2022 amid the Russian invasion.

Harry’s outing with the HALO Trust comes amid his solo trip to New York City, visiting from his California home where he lives with Meghan and their children, Archie, and daughter, Princess Lilibet, 3. In late August, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex announced that he would be in New York to “advance a number of his patronages and philanthropic initiatives” and “participate in engagements with African Parks, The HALO Trust, The Diana Award and Travalyst.”

Prince Harry will also “be furthering the work of The Archewell Foundation, the nonprofit organization he co-founded with his wife Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex,” the spokesperson said. 

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After years of self-reflection — chronicled in his best-selling memoir Spare — the Duke of Sussex is focused on enjoying life with his family, furthering the work of the Archewell Foundation and prioritizing fatherhood. Speaking to PEOPLE at the Invictus Games in Orlando, Prince Harry told PEOPLE that he most hoped to make his mother proud. 

“I certainly hope and believe everything I do makes her proud,” the Duke of Sussex told PEOPLE in 2016. “In the 12 short years I was lucky enough to have with her, I saw and felt the energy and lift she got from helping others, no matter their background, ailment or status. Her life and theirs was better for it, however short theirs or hers was.”

“I honor my mother in everything I do. I am my mother’s son,” he said.