Prince Harry, who is fifth in line for the royal throne of England, completed an HIV test live on the Royal Family’s Facebook page July 14 to raise awareness for the disease and importance of knowing your status.
“It’s better that everyone goes and gets tested. Why wouldn’t you? Whether you’re a man, woman, gay, straight, black, white, whatever, even ginger, why wouldn’t you come and have a test?” Prince Harry said.
One of the biggest factors for increased HIV infection rates in the U.K. has been that up to 17 percent of HIV positive patients are unaware of their status and unintentionally pass on the virus to partners, according to statistics posted by the Royal Family.
Kensington Palace, one of the residences for the royals in London, tweeted July 14 that Price Harry was streaming his test live because he “believes his generation needs to take leadership in the fight against HIV, or risk losing the gains of those who’ve come before.”
Prince Harry believes his generation needs to take leadership in the fight against HIV, or risk losing the gains of those who’ve come before
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) July 14, 2016
Prince Harry announced last month that he looked to follow in his mother’s footsteps in raising awareness and fighting HIV/AIDS. His mother Princess Diana helped to publicize the plight of AIDS victims in the late 1980s.
