Prince Harry, Rihanna get HIV test together for World Aids Day

A day after meeting at a concert in the Caribbean, Britain's Prince Harry and pop queen Rihanna took an HIV test in public to promote World Aids Day.

On Dec 1, Kensington Palace, which releases official information about Prince Harry and his older brother Prince William online, shared a video on Twitter of both the prince and the superstar giving blood samples for live testing.

To show how easy the process of testing is, they had their fingers pricked during the Barbados National HIV/Aids Commission's Man Aware event. The prince is on a mission to encourage men to go in for HIV testing.

Both smiled and mugged for the camera. Harry made a face after the needle was taken out.

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When it was her turn, Rihanna turned to the prince and said: "Oh, that was not bad. You really made it feel like it hurt."

Later, she posted on her Instagram feed: "Couldn't believe how easy this was to get tested and find out my status on the spot! So easy you can order your own kit and do it at home! #ProTESTHIV Thank you Prince Harry for this initiative! It will really make a difference in the fight against HIV and AIDS."

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Both of their tests came back negative, Billboard music magazine reported.

Harry met Barbados-born Rihanna twice on Nov 30, during events to celebrate the country's 50 years of independence from British rule. The prince is on an official visit to the Caribbean, visiting eight nations, according to reports from the New York Times.

While in Grenada on Monday, he announced nine scholarships for residents of the Commonwealth realms in the Caribbeans. Recipients of the Royal Household Hospitality Scholarship will spend six weeks in the royal family's orbit, going to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle and attending Royal Ascot week, an annual elite horse racing and human hobnobbing event in June.

The six-week programme is designed for professionals in the hospitality industry, a backbone of the Caribbean economy, to learn new skills while serving in the Master of the Household's department, which plans royal parties and events.

This article was first published on Dec 2, 2016.
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