Prince Harry accepts award honoring mother's fight against AIDS in gay community

Prince Harry has paid tribute to his mother Princess Diana for her work fighting AIDS and HIV while accepting an honor on her behalf at the Attitude Awards.

The British royal, 33, appeared on stage at the ceremony hosted by editors at British gay magazine Attitude in London on Thusrsday (12Oct17).

On stage at the event he paid tribute to his mom for helping remove the stigma around admitting you had HIV, the virus which causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Diana, who died in a car crash at the age of just 36 in 1997, was being posthumously honored for her activism with a Legacy Award.

Harry told an audience at the British capital's Roundhouse venue that he was "incredibly proud" of his mother for the work she did meeting AIDS sufferers in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

At the time, the sexually transmitted disease was mainly linked to members of the gay community.

"She knew that AIDS was one of the things that many wanted to ignore and seemed like a hopeless challenge," the Prince told the audience. "She knew that the misunderstanding of this relatively new disease was creating a dangerous situation when mixed with homophobia."

Diana famously met AIDS sufferers at a hospice in the U.S. and the Prince said he was proud the moment had helped change perceptions of those with AIDS.

"She was using her position as Princess of Wales - the most famous woman in the world - to challenge everyone to educate themselves; to find their compassion; and to reach out to those who need help instead of pushing them away," he said in his poignant speech.

A number of other stars were honored at the awards ceremony, including British band Erasure, Charli XCX, Laverne Cox and Matt Lucas.