Prince Harry today revealed that he gets “incredibly nervous and anxious” before public speaking despite his relaxed demeanour in front of crowds.
The 30-year-old prince revealed his closely guarded secret as part of the #FeelNoShame campaign for his Sentebale charity to help reduce the stigma of HIV on World Aids Day.
Harry, who is seen as one of the royal family’s most natural performers, released a video today saying: “Today, World Aids Day, my secret is believe it or not I get incredibly nervous before public speaking, no matter now big the crowd or the audience.
“And despite the fact that I laugh and I joke all the time, I get incredibly nervous if not anxious actually before going into rooms full of people when I am wearing a suit.
“And now that I have confessed that I’ll probably be even more worried that people are looking at me.”
He thanked everyone for taking part and encouraged as many people as possible to get involved.
The prince joined celebrities including actress Gemma Arterton, singer Nicole Scherzinger, musician Jools Holland and Olympic gymnast Louis Smith, who were releasing videos throughout the day telling their secrets.
Arterton revealed that she has never seen the films Star Wars or Back to the Future, while Scherzinger said she sometimes feels she is “not enough” and “doesn’t fit in”.
Actor Ricky Tomlinson admitted he gets a professional cleaner in to clean his house and then tells his wife he’s spent hours doing it himself.
Singer Paloma Faith revealed that she trawls Instagram in her spare time and eats chocolate to help her beat the blues.
The project is aimed at tackling the fear which still surrounds HIV and Harry hopes young people can get the opportunity to enjoy their childhood free of stigma.
The campaign will be coordinated by Sentebale — the charity co-founded in Lesotho by the prince after he saw the problems faced by children with HIV who live there. He launched the campaign by releasing a video at midnight on microsite FeelNoShame. In it he asked the public to share their secrets via social media in exchange for his.
Read More
In an earlier video, Harry said: “To show our support for the children of Lesotho, and help reduce the stigma for all those affected by HIV, we are turning this World Aids Day into a day in which no one should feel any shame about their secrets.
“Together, we can tackle the stigma surrounding HIV and give the young people carrying it the childhood they deserve. The childhood so many of us take for granted.
“Globally, HIV is the second-highest cause of death amongst those aged between 10 and 19 years old, and it is the number one cause of death across Africa. One tragic issue in particular is the shame and stigma linked to HIV. This causes thousands of children to needlessly die each year because they’re keeping their illness a secret and not getting the medical attention they need.”
The campaign aims to raise awareness of how eradicating shame and stigma can save the lives of HIV sufferers, empowering them to seek medical support and education about their condition, and preventing the virus from spreading.
Cathy Ferrier, chief executive officer of Sentebale, said: “Today we will celebrate the sharing of secrets with #FeelNoShame to help spread the word that eradicating the stigma surrounding HIV will help save the lives of many HIV-positive children.”
