Rugby Star Gareth Thomas Shares How Prince Harry Has Been a 'Constant Support' Since HIV Diagnosis

Gareth Thomas is opening up about how Prince Harry has helped him "publicly and privately" since going public with his HIV diagnosis in 2019.

The former rugby player revealed how Harry has supported him in his Tackle HIV campaign, including a recent video chat in support of National HIV Testing Week 2022 in the U.K.

"He's been a great supporter of me publicly and privately since I spoke about my diagnosis," Thomas tells PEOPLE. "And you know, I realized when I spoke about my diagnosis, I started this conversation. But I needed to keep the conversation going. So that's why I started a campaign, Tackle HIV, with ViiV healthcare and The Terrence Higgins Trust."

He adds, "But we needed other voices and other people — and from day one, Harry has been a constant support to the campaign."

Thomas says that the Duke of Sussex, 37, is a "very caring, empathetic person," adding, "Whenever I do anything with Harry, it always goes well."

This year marks 35 years since Harry's mother Princess Diana opened the U.K.'s first HIV/AIDS unit at London's Middlesex Hospital, a space that would exclusively care for patients with the virus.

"We are talking about someone whose mother went, went to the HIV unit 35 years ago," Thomas says. "This is a man who's not, who was not infected by this virus but has understood it as being part of his life for a long, long time. So to have somebody who understands this and wants to be part of the change and wants to eradicate the negativity that people come at it with gave me a real sense that I can get through it."

Thomas notes that while HIV used to be viewed as a death sentence, he manages the disease with just one tablet each day and lives a "very happy, normal, healthy life."

"His mother started this and he wants to finish it, and by finishing it we need people to change. We need attitudes to change because science and medicine has changed," Thomas says.

As part of his advocacy work, Harry underwent public HIV tests alongside singer Rihanna during a 2016 visit to her native Barbados.

After his outing with Rihanna, Harry said, "The younger generation coming through want to talk about it, but there's still that stigma. If us getting testing normalizes it and makes a difference, even a small difference, then job well done."

Tackle HIV, a campaign led by Gareth Thomas in partnership with ViiV Healthcare and the Terrence Higgins Trust, aims to tackle the stigma and misunderstanding around HIV. Visit www.tacklehiv.org and follow @tacklehiv.