BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Dec 01 2016 – Pop superstar Rihanna teased Prince Harry when they both volunteered for HIV tests to highlight World Aids Day.
The pair have taken the tests in Bridgetown on the island of Barbados as his tour of the Commonwealth island comes to a close.
Rihanna joked that the test was ‘so easy’ after Harry warned her it would be painful and winced when his blood was taken.
Both Rihanna and the prince tested negative after waiting 20 minutes at the HIV drop-in centre which targets men.
While talking to local people about HIV, Harry said: ‘We are all sexual beings…It is also normalising testing – it is the responsible, cool thing to do to know your status.’
He added that while the ‘birds and the bees conversation’ happened in Britain, ‘HIV is not part of that’.
Flattering superstar Rihanna, he told her she had ‘such an incredible reach’ and was ‘so respected’.
Harry, 32, persuaded the 28-year-old Bajan superstar to take the test in public with him today when the pair chatted backstage for 15 minutes last night after the prince delivered a speech at a concert to celebrate Barbados’ 50th anniversary.
It was the second time that Harry had taken a test in public in five months in an attempt to reduce the stigma surrounding the virus.
The prince had teased the singer that the test would be painful and winced as the needle went into his finger.
Seconds later, Rihanna proved that she was tougher than the prince, saying: ‘You made it seem like it hurts.
‘It’s not as painful as you said this morning.’
Speaking after the test, Rihanna said: ‘I am very positive about what you are doing here.’
The singer, born and raised in Barbados, turned up in a Jeep she drove herself and was not noticed until a few minutes after she arrived.
Of the pin prick test, she said: ‘This is so easy.’
It was hoped that by getting Rihanna to be part of today’s test, the stigma around HIV would be changed in the Caribbean.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: ‘This is a really positive thing to do. This was only arranged last night.
‘Prince Harry asked her at the concert. They spoke after he had given his speech. They spoke for about 15 minutes.
‘She was very happy to do it. She has had people in her life that she has known who have died from AIDS. She said this is important and she wanted to do this.
‘She has tens of millions of followers on social media alone. Her people are confident that she can reach a billion people through social media.’
