Prince Harry got tested for HIV during royal family's first Facebook Live stream
LONDON -- Prince Harry took a HIV test live on social media on Thursday to promote the importance of getting tested for the virus, and to show how easy it is to get tested.
In the British royal family's first Facebook Live broadcast, the prince took a rapid HIV test at Burrell Street Sexual Health Clinic, a wing of Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital in central London.
Prince Harry, whose late mother, Princess Diana, was a notable early advocate of HIV/AIDS sufferers, said he was nervous prior to taking the test, but once it was under way he appeared to relax a little.
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Rapid HIV tests, which can produce results in less than one minute, involve pricking a finger and taking a smear of blood. The test screens for antibodies that the body produces to combat the virus.
During the five-minute broadcast, Prince Harry was tested for HIV and received the news that he'd tested negative.
"Whether you're a man, woman, gay, straight, black, white, even ginger; why wouldn't you come in and get a test?" the prince said.
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HIV organisations have hailed Prince Harry's live testing as "a groundbreaking moment in the fight against HIV."
“Not only does it show His Royal Highness’s genuine and personal commitment to tackling the HIV epidemic, it will amplify a message to millions all over the world: testing for HIV is easy, quick and nothing to be feared," Ian Green, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said in a statement.
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Topics Health
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
