Prince Harry HIV test
Prince Harry prepares to have has his blood taken by Specialist Psychotherapist Robert Palmer for an HIV test at the Burrell Street Sexual Health Clinic in London, Britain on July 14, 2016. Reuters/Chris Jackson

It took a royal blood to raise public awareness on the ease of taking free HIV tests across Great Britain. Prince Harry underwent an HIV screening Thursday at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London.

The test was broadcasted live on the royal family’s Facebook page and Twitter account.

The 31-year-old prince showed how “quick, free and easy” the HIV screening is. The test, facilitated by psychotherapist Robert Palmer, yielded negative result instantly.

"It's better that everyone goes and gets tested. Why wouldn't you?," the fifth to the British throne said. "Whether you're a man, woman, gay, straight, black, white, whatever, even ginger, why wouldn't you come and have a test?"

Personal advocacy

HIV awareness is part of Prince Harry’s varied advocacies. In fact, he co-founded Sentebale, a charity known to raise awareness about the disease, in memory of his late mother, Princess Diana, who championed AIDS awareness during her lifetime.

Inspired by her mother’s legacy, Prince Harry is set talk about the stigma on HIV on the International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, next week. He will speak about HIV testing, treatment and prevention with anti-AIDS activist and rock star Elton John.

In an earlier statement, Kensington Palace said that among the reasons of rising HIV rates in the UK is due to the patient’s lack of awareness on their status. Late diagnosis have undermined the patient’s chance at early treatment.

HIV, or Human Immunodefficiency Virus, is a retrovirus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodefficiency Syndrome), which targets the immune system to fail.

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