By Rebecca Taylor, news reporter
Prince Harry is to join forces with Gareth Thomas to help end the stigma of HIV, continuing the work his mother first did three decades ago.
Thomas, 45, revealed over the weekend that he was diagnosed as HIV positive, but through treatment, the virus is undetectable and will not pass it on to his husband.
Following his dramatic revelation, Prince Harry and his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, offered their support to him.
The Duke of Sussex will now partner up with Thomas to work together to raise awareness of HIV and the current methods of treatment.
Thomas told the Mirror: "Like me, Prince Harry wants to break the stigma around HIV and he has already done a lot of great work.
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"We are planning to work together now. To do something with him will be really powerful."
In the 1980s, Diana, Princess of Wales, was photographed shaking hands with a man who was HIV positive. The photo had a powerful impact at a time when many people believed HIV could be contracted through touch.
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Now, Harry is continuing in his mother's footsteps.
Thomas added: "Quite often I look at that photo of Diana at the clinic next to those frail-looking men and then I look at a photo of myself out on my bike and it motivates me because I can see how things have changed and advanced.
"It also makes me realise how lucky I am because I see what it was like for them and I know 30 years ago that could have been me."
Harry was one of several celebrities to take a public HIV test in 2016 and launched the MenStar campaign with Sir Elton John, which aims to expand the diagnoses and treatments of HIV infections in men "with the aim of ultimately ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030".
Thomas, who is Wales's second highest all-time try scorer, came out as gay in 2009. He told the Mirror he had received support in his HIV diagnosis from Sir Elton, as well as friends Samantha Womack, Jonny Wilkinson, and Andy Bell.
Prince William called Thomas "courageous as ever" while international referee Nigel Owens said he was "brave" and Dame Kelly Holmes called him a "legend".
The former Wales and Lions captain completed Ironman on Sunday soon after news of his diagnosis broke. He was tearful as he crossed the line, with scores of people cheering him on over the finish.
He completed the 2.4-mile swim in Carmarthen Bay in under an hour-and-a-half, then did a six-and-a-half hour, 112-mile bike ride across south Pembrokeshire, before running a 26.2-mile marathon in four hours and 17 minutes.
