Royal first as Prince Harry picks up award from gay magazine
PRESTON, UNITED KINGDOM – OCTOBER 23: Prince Harry during a visit to Myplace at Brockholes Nature Reserve, a project which aims to empower young people by encouraging them to take action in environmental activities on October 23, 2017 in Preston, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Prince Harry is to make an appearance at this evening’s Attitude Awards, where he will collect a posthumous award on behalf of his mother, Princess Diana.
The Prince has followed in his mother’s footsteps by campaigning on HIV/AIDS issues, while he has also praised the “amazing” work of a transgender children’s charity.
But in a royal first this week, he is expected to attend an awards ceremony organised by gay magazine Attitude, which is posthumously honouring his mother, Princess Diana.
Buckingham Palace confirmed that the Prince “will collect a posthumous Attitude Legacy Award on behalf of Diana, Princess of Wales, at the Attitude Awards at the Roundhouse” this evening.
Prince Harry
His mother will be named the recipient of the Attitude Legacy Award at the ceremony, 20 years on from her tragic death in 1997.
Many in the gay community held a special affinity with the Princess, in part due to her work during the AIDS crisis.
During the AIDS crisis Princess Diana made many visits both officially and unofficially – and famously shook hands with a patient at the height of HIV stigma.
The charity named in her honour, The Diana Award, also works to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.
The Prince has adopted HIV as one of his key campaigning issues, visiting a number of HIV clinics, attending the International AIDS Conference in South Africa, and speaking about his late mother’s work on the issue.
Last year the Prince made headlines by taking a HIV test himself in a Facebook Live video earlier this month, in an appeal for more people to get tested.
<> at on July 14, 2016 in London, England.
The Prince said of his mother: “She started very punchy [on AIDS].
“She smashed the stigma around HIV on more than one occasion. It had a huge impact, and a huge impact on my life as well.”
Prince Harry added: “I don’t consciously channel myself down certain avenues specifically because I think my mum would be proud. But she sure as hell would be proud of me, hopefully, that I’m doing it.”
He explained: “If you’re not going to get tested for yourself and you’re not going to go and get tested for your loved ones that you could possibly infect, then… I don’t know if it’s a selfish thing to say or not, but if you respect what my mother stood for, go and get tested for her.
“It’s 20 years next year since she died, and 30 years ago she was in this hospital [HIV clinic Mildmay] and she did something that no-one else had ever done before.
“If she were still here today, she would probably get tested every month, just to prove a point.”
The Prince added that it was important for him as a straight man to take on the issue, to bust early misconceptions about HIV/AIDS being an exclusively ‘gay’ disease.
He said: “The issue itself needs a straight guy, mid-30s, to come in and try and normalise it. Once again, I’m fortunate enough to be in this position in order to make a difference.
The royal continued: “There’s so much stigma simply around a name or an acronym. It’s 2016 for god’s sake, we need to start rethinking this.
“Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. When you spell it out, you suddenly go, ‘it’s not actually that terrifying at all’.
“If you speak to someone who’s suffering from [AIDS], of course it’s terrifying because it can kill you, but the point I’m trying to make is, if you can’t even say the word without cringing or worrying or freaking out about it, how the hell are we going to help everybody and solve this problem before it gets too big?
“I think most people would admit that they’ve had sex without a condom, and there is always a moment, the next day probably, when you think to yourself, ‘I need to go and get a checkup’.”
“Let’s start in the UK, lead by example, and then help everybody else.”
Earlier this week he Prince praised the work of Mermaids, a charity which works to support transgender children.
The head of Mermaids was invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace, where Prince Harry praised its “amazing” work..
The Royal Family maintained a historic silence on LGBT rights, but Prince Harry and his brother Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, have busted the stigma over the past few years.
Prince William made history last year as the first royal to take part in a shoot for a gay magazine.
