NOV1996 1996 – PRINCESS DIANA AT THE VICTOR CHANG CARDIAC RESEARCH INSTITUTE , SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. (Photo by Patrick Riviere/Getty Images)
3. Diana’s AIDS work
In 1987, Princess Diana became the first royal person to touch individuals suffering from HIV and AIDS without gloves. “HIV does not make people dangerous to know. You can shake their hands and give them a hug, heaven knows they need it,” she said in an interview following the encounter. She changed the attitudes surrounding AIDS and HIV and opened the door for others to follow in her footsteps. The People’s Princess was passionate about educating and spreading awareness about the disease and intent on shattering stigmas. When she shook the hand of a man infected with the disease without gloves, she challenged the belief that AIDS/HIV is spread through touch. She encouraged people to treat victims with respect and compassion.
The AIDS/HIV phobia wasn’t specific to England, and her effect was far-reaching. Almost twenty years after her death, Sir Elton John sat down to discuss with Prince William and Prince Harry how Diana’s legacy lives on in AIDS work today: “It was considered to be a gay disease and for someone who was in the royal family and who was a woman and who was straight, to have someone care from the other side was an incredible gift.” Sir Elton John wrote “Candle in the Wind’ about Diana and sang it at her funeral.