Princess Diana's Handshake with Aids Patient

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 April 2017

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

In the mid-80s, the world was terrified by HIV Aids caused by a lack of understanding and misinformation. In April 1987, Princess Diana opened the UK's first purpose built HIV Aids unit at London Middlesex Hospital that exclusively cared for patients infected with the virus. In front of the world's media, without wearing gloves, Princess Diana shook the hand of a man suffering with the illness. This gesture publicly challenged the notion that HIV Aids was passed from person to person by touch. John O'Reilly was a nurse on the ward at the time of the Princess of Wales' visit. He spoke to Farhana Haider about the landmark moment in the fight against HIV Aids.

(Photo: Princess Diana with an AIDS patient at the Middlesex Hospital April 1987. Credit REX/Shutterstock)

Transcript

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1:06.2	Hello, you're listening to the Witness Podcast,
1:08.4	history is told by the people who were there.
1:10.9	I'm Frahana Hiva, and today we go back to April 1987 when Princess Diana
1:16.1	opened the UK's first purpose-built HIV AIDS unit and shook hands with an AIDS patient.
1:27.0	The photo of that handshake made the front pages of newspapers around the world
1:30.0	and helped change attitudes to AIDS
	...

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