Prince Harry got tested for HIV in 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.

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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. 

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." 

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“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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