PRINCE Harry beamed as he collected a war hero award at a glitzy ceremony – despite an ex-military chief urging him to return it.
The Duke of Sussex and his wife received a cheer as they were introduced by close friend and host Serena Williams moments before he received the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPYS tonight.
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Harry, wearing a dark suit and tie, was sat at the Dolby Theatre alongside the duchess, who wore a long white dress.
The pair had skipped the red carpet before the event after backlash over Harry receiving the presitgious award.
The prize, named after the iconic NFL player, typically goes to an unsung veteran.
Even Pat Tillman’s mum, Mary, has previously hit out at the Duke saying there are others “far more fitting” to get the gong.
Harry stayed silent on the criticism during his speech, even thanking Mary directly for her work with the Pat Tillman Foundation.
“I’d also like to acknowledge the Tillman family, especially Mary Tillman, Pat’s mother – her advocacy for Pat’s legacy is deeply personal and one that I respect,” he said.
“The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses.”
Harry, 39, received the gong for his Invictus Games work at the star-studded Los Angeles bash.
“The truth is I stand here not as Prince Harry Pat Tillman Award recipient but rather as a voice on behalf of the Invictus Game Foundation,” he told the crowd.
“And the thousands of veterans and service personnel from over 20 nations who have made the Invictus Games a reality
“This award belongs to them not to me.
“It is of great importance to me to highlight these allies and their amazing families for their achievements, their spirit, and their courage at every opportunity.
“Especially on nights like this in front of people like you.”
He also thanked the awards to bringing attention to the work of Invictus.
“Moments like these help us reach the people who need Invictus most,” Harry added.
“And reduce more than 20 veterans a day taking their own lives in this country alone.”
The ESPYS helps raise awareness and funds for the V Foundation for Cancer Research and has raised more than £1.5million towards to cause since 1993.
Former NFL safety Steve Gleason also attended to collect the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage.
While University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley took home the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.
It comes after Harry jetted across the pond to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of his Invictus Games earlier this year.
The first ever ceremony took place in March 2014 at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.
It unfolds over the course of seven days and sees more than 500 athletes compete over nine core sports – as well as additional activities and competitions, including esports.
Sporting events at the Games include wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair rugby, and indoor rowing.
The duke also recently exciting new plans for a lavish Invictus Games centre in Abuja, Nigeria.
It intends to provide a safe space for veterans recovering from both physical and mental struggles, as reported by People.
Harry spoke about the innovative project during his Nigeria trip with Meghan earlier this year.
However, the duke sparked huge backlash after accepting the Pat Tillman honour – with many claiming it would anger the military community.
Pat’s own mother, Mary, previously hit out at the Duke saying there are others “far more fitting” and with less “privilege” who could win the gong.
She said: “There are recipients that are far more fitting. There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans.”
Her comments inspired a petition to prevent ESPN handing the duke, who is a veteran of Afghanistan himself, with the award.
It garnered an eye-watering 68,000 signatories.
ESPN personality Pat McAfeee suggested Harry had only been put up for the award to improve TV ratings.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams also previously hit out and dubbed it a “tragedy” that Harry was to be given the gong.
What happened to Pat Tillman?
ESPN recounted Tillman’s tragic death in 2014 as the 10th anniversary approached.
Tillman was a safety with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals for four seasons before joining the Army.
He enlisted eight months after 3,000 people were killed in the September 11 terror attacks.
Tillman, a California native, turned down a contract offer of $3.6 million when he joined the military.
“The events leading up to one of the most infamous friendly-fire deaths in US military history were rife for second-guessing from the start,” reported ESPN.
“After an Army Humvee broke down in the mountains, Tillman’s platoon was divided by superiors so that the Humvee could be removed; a local truck driver was hired as the hauler.
“But the two groups struggled to communicate with each other as they traversed the steep terrain. And the second group soon became caught in a deafening ambush, receiving fire as it manoeuvred down a narrow, rocky canyon trail.”
A squad leader would misidentify an allied Afghan soldier positioned next to Tillman as the enemy, according to ESPN.
Soldiers would fire upon what Army Ranger Steven Elliott called “shadowy images,” ESPN reported.
He added that Tillman’s mother had the “right to be disturbed”.
Meanwhile, the former head of the Royal Navy Lord West had urged Harry to turn it down.
He said the dad-of-two should think “hard and long” about accepting the gong.
Another retired military officer, Colonel Richard Kemp, said the award is just “celebrities massaging each other’s egos”.
He previously told The Sun: “He was a gunner in an Apache helicopter in Afghanistan but so were many, many other people.
“I can think of many people who did pretty extraordinary things while serving in the British and American armed forces which would be much more deserving of an award like this.”
“It is obviously because of who he is – not what he did. An Apache is crewed by two people – a pilot and a gunner. Harry was a gunner. He was number two in the aircraft.”
Meanwhile, historian and biographer Hugo Vickers claimed Harry doesn’t need an award – and this is a failed attempt to reinvent himself.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Hugo told The Sun’s Royal Editor Mat Wilkinson: “I think it is a bit uncomfortable, he doesn’t need an award.
“I think what he did with the Invictus Games was brilliant and I am glad he is still doing things for them.
“The problem is it gets tied up with this need for reinvention, publicity, which they’re always doing.
“I feel sorry for happy because he looks unhappy, I think he is out of his depth if I am to be honest.”
Prince Harry’s Army career
Prince Harry entered RMAS in May 2005 to begin 44 weeks of Officer Cadet training, this was after passing his Regular Commissions Board (RCB), the qualification necessary to train at Sandhurst, in September 2004.
In January 2006, Clarence House announced he was to join the Blues and Royals, after which he was commissioned as an Army officer on 12 April that year.
The Duke of Sussex served in the Army for ten years, undertaking two tours of Afghanistan.
The father of two rose to the rank of Captain at the peak of his military career which began in 2004.
During his time serving, he qualified as an Apache Aircraft Commander.
In his memoir Spare he revealed he flew six missions during his second tour of duty which resulted in “the taking of human lives” of which he was neither proud nor ashamed.
His decision to leave the Army was confirmed in March 2015.
Prince Harry ended his military career at the rank of captain in June 2015, following a secondment to the Australian military.
General Sir Nicholas Carter, the then-Chief of the General Staff, said that Prince Harry had “achieved much in his 10 years as a soldier”.
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