Gareth Thomas is full of praise for Prince Harry.
The former Welsh rugby captain told that he can confide in and share secrets with the Prince, and considers him among his closest pals.
The pair teamed up last year to shatter the stigma around HIV after Gareth went public with his own diagnosis of the virus.
Since Prince Harry dropped Gareth a call to ask how he could help, a beautiful friendship has blossomed.
Gareth has previously told that Prince Harry was hoping to continue his mother Princess Diana's legacy, following her own work to break the stigma during her lifetime.
Now, Gareth has told Mirror Online that their close bond has continued - and that he feels he can confide in him.
"He's helped me through a lot of things," Gareth said, "I think, from the outside, because he's a Prince and has a privileged lifestyle...he's a very intelligent man, and connected to people who've struggled.
"He comes at the world from a very caring place."
He added: "Through a lot of big things in the time I've been close to Harry, he's helped me through in a way that people might not expect.
"People have a perception that he might be detached from reality, or from normal society. I'm from a council estate in Bridgend , and he understands me as well as anyone.
"If I were to describe one of my very best mates, who I could sit down and chat with...I'd say yeah, because he's a great bloke."
Gareth went to say that he knows he can confide in Prince Harry, and that the two can share secrets if they want to get something off their chests.
"To have people like that in your life, royalty or not - that's a privilege. He's just like other friends I have."
Gareth was speaking from his Bridgend home in Wales, where he lives with husband Stephen Williams Thomas.
He sadly lost an uncle recently, not from coronavirus, but the pandemic did mean Gareth and his family were unable to visit.
Recent research from will writer and death specialist Farewill shows that 94% say stress has been added to grief amid the pandemic as the "processes and administrative tasks associated with death have been negatively affected."
