Princess Diana Chose To Work Out at An LGBTQ Gym For a Very Interesting Reason: "She Could..."

At the beginning of the 1990s, Princess Diana was a campaigner for the LGBTQ movement. She famously established the first AIDS ward in Britain at London Middlesex Hospital in 1987. Even nurses at the time were scared to shake hands with patients without gloves, but she did it attracting major media attention. Her public life was dotted with LGBT causes, she had strong relations with Freddie Mercury, Gianni Versace, George Michael, and Elton John. According to Cheat Sheet, the Princess of Wales loved working out at Soho Gym, which catered mostly to gay males. 

Diana was comfortable around gays, according to British author Jeremy Norman, who operated a chain of the Soho Gym. He continued by saying that during the height of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, she developed a close bond with the LGBTQ community. The gym owner stated, “It’s not really much discussed, but she really liked gay guys,” Norman said. “She really felt at ease with gay men. She could relate to them and she didn’t feel threatened by them in any way. They were just friends she could hang out with.” 

“When we bought the Earl’s Court Gym when I was expanding the Soho Gyms group, she was a member there,” he recalled. “That was the gym she was a member of when she died, and she would work out there. I think we closed the gym for a couple of hours three times a week for her.” As per Tatler, Diana voluntarily broke the stigma surrounding AIDS and the queer community. Ian Green, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust stated, "Princess Diana was a true champion of HIV awareness. She brought passion to the cause and did truly remarkable things. She was the first person on the profile who was prepared to shake hands and touch people with HIV, which at the time was seen as a risk."

He continued, "This statement publicly challenged the notion that HIV was passed from person to person by touch." By becoming an official supporter of the National AIDS Trust and giving speeches at their events, the late princess fought against prejudice. She further debunked the notion that it was only an issue for the LGBT community by discussing the effects on young mothers and their children at a 1993 event. "For those mothers and children already living under the shadow of AIDS, we need to help them back into the light, to reassure them and support their needs. And maybe we will learn from them how to live our own lives more fully, for however long it may be."

Moving forward Prince William and Prince Harry have actively been involved in spreading her legacy. As per The New York Times, in 2016 William featured on the cover of Attitude, a gay magazine to raise awareness of the LGBTQ community and their persecution. “No one should be bullied for their sexuality or any other reason, and no one should have to put up with the kind of hate that these young people have endured in their lives,” he said while speaking up against marginalized bullying. 

Harry, however, went a step further and underwent a quick HIV test at London's Burrell Street Sexual Health Centre. On July 14, 2016, the test was streamed live on the Royal Family's Facebook page. BBC reported that the Duke of Sussex later claimed that he felt a sense of "obligation" to carry on his mother's mission to eradicate the stigma associated with the condition.