Princess Diana's bodyguard reveals her shocking conversation with Queen over AIDS activism
Princess Diana's bodyguard reveals her shocking conversation with Queen over AIDS activism
Charl WrightSun, August 9, 2026 at 9:00 AM UTC
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Princess Diana changed global perceptions with her AIDS activism (Image: Getty Images)
Princess Diana's former royal protection officer has shared a private conversation she had with Queen Elizabeth II about her HIV/AIDS activism.
Diana, who died in August 1997, worked directly to end the stereotyping of the disease and dismantle public fear and systemic stigma through deliberate acts of physical contact.
Famously, on April 9, 1987, Diana officially opened the Broderip Ward at London Middlesex Hospital, the United Kingdom's first purpose-built medical unit exclusively dedicated to HIV/AIDS care. During the visit, and in front of the world's media, the 26-year-old deliberately shook the hand of a terminally ill AIDS patient without wearing gloves. This comes as Prince Harry was told he was "wrong to blame the media" amid his UK exit.
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This single photo shattered the prevailing, incorrect myth that the virus could be transmitted through casual touch or skin contact. Hospital staff later noted this gesture did more to educate the public than years of government health campaigns.
During her life, Diana served as a high-profile patron and president of the National AIDS Trust, and regularly visited hospitals where patients were being treated for the disease.
Princess Diana worked tirelessly to end the stereotypes surrounding AIDS and HIV (Image: Getty Images)
Hospital workers also frequently recalled that Diana made unannounced, late-night visits away from press cameras to sit with dying patients, read to sick children, and offer comfort to grieving families.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Express US, her former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, said the late Princess of Wales "genuinely cared" about patients, and "believed her position could provide the one thing that could cure AIDS - money."
He also praised Diana for her "real courage," and recounted a conversation she had with the Queen about her activism.
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"Diana met the Queen fairly regularly, and she enjoyed those meetings. I was never privy to the conversations, of course. I'd simply wait outside, usually in the gardens at Buckingham Palace," Ken told us on behalf of CasinoCanada.
However, he said one day, "she came out in floods of tears," and revealed to him a conversation she'd had with the late monarch.
Diana allegedly told him, "You'll never guess what, Ken. The Queen asked me what I wanted to do next," at which point the mother of two explained to her that she'd be interested in AIDS activism.
Diana then told the Queen, "I think it's something a member of the Royal Family should get involved with." Yet Her Majesty didn't seem to agree.
"Why do you want to do that? Why don't you get involved in something nice?" the Queen reportedly asked Diana, with the beloved royal replying, "Well, I'm already doing lots of nice things representing the monarchy, but I really think this is something very nice to get involved with-something that needs the support of royal patronage, that could make a difference."
Nonetheless, despite the Queen's uncertainty, Diana's activism has been called "one of the greatest achievements of her public life," and continues to be something she is so lovingly remembered for.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
