Prince Harry is opening up about his mother’s legacy.
The Duke of Sussex teamed up with rugby player Gareth Thomas, who announced in 2019 that he is HIV positive, in support of National HIV Testing Week 2022 in the U.K.
The British prince hopped on a video chat from the California home he shares with wife Meghan Markle and their two children to chat with Thomas, who created the Tackle HIV campaign, People magazine reported on Thursday.
During the discussion, Harry described how important it has been for him to continue advocating for HIV 35 years after Princess Diana opened the U.K.’s first HIV/AIDS unit at London’s Middlesex Hospital.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, teamed up with Gareth Thomas in support of National HIV Testing Week 2022 in the U.K. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
“What my mom did, and what so many other people did at that time, was to smash that wall down,” the 37-year-old explained. “To kick the door open and say, ‘No. When people are suffering, then we need to learn more, and if there’s a stigma that’s playing such a large part of it, then what we really need to do is talk about it more.’ That kind of made people feel a little bit uncomfortable to start with. But stigma thrives on silence. We know that.”
“What my mom started all those years ago was creating empathy and understanding… but also curiosity, which I think was really powerful,” Harry added.
According to Harry, many people had a “blissful ignorance” towards the illness because they didn’t think they were at risk for contracting it. Harry said that while he knew he wasn’t in a risk group, he hoped getting tested will encourage others to find out their statuses without shame.
“Every single one of us has a duty, or at least an opportunity, to get tested ourselves to make it easier for everybody else to get tested,” said Harry. “It will undoubtedly save a life or, at the very least, encourage someone who is living in fear to come forward and get to know their own status, which in turn will save a life.”
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Princess Diana shakes hands with an AIDS patient as she opens a new AIDS ward at the Middlesex Hospital on April 9, 1987, in London, England. (Photo by Anwar Hussein/WireImage)
Previously, Harry underwent HIV tests alongside Rihanna during a 2016 visit to her native Barbados. It was part of his advocacy work on raising awareness.
Markle, a former American actress, became the Duchess of Sussex when she married Harry in May 2018 at Windsor Castle. The couple welcomed a son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor in 2019.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s departures from royal duties began in 2020 over what they described as the British media’s intrusions and racist attitudes towards the former “Suits” star, 40. The family now resides in the coastal city of Montecito, California.
In the wake of quitting royal duties, they gave an explosive TV interview to Oprah Winfrey, in which the couple described painful comments about how dark Archie’s skin might be before his birth. The duchess talked about the intense isolation she felt inside the royal family that led her to contemplate suicide.
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Rihanna and Prince Harry attend the ‘Man Aware’ event held by the Barbados National HIV/AIDS Commission on the eleventh day of an official visit on December 1, 2016, in Bridgetown, Barbados. Prince Harry’s visit to the Caribbean marks the 35th anniversary of independence in Antigua and Barbuda and the 50th anniversary of independence in Barbados and Guyana. (Photo by Chris Jackson – Pool/Getty Images)
Buckingham Palace said the allegations of racism made by the couple were “concerning” and would be addressed privately.
On June 4, the couple welcomed their second child, a daughter named Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
The name pays tribute to both Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, whose family nickname is Lilibet, and his late mother.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
