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.
SEE ALSO: This student's app puts everything you need to know about HIV at your fingertipsIn 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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