Prince Harry accepts controversial award with full support from Meghan Markle
Prince Harry faces the possibility of “never winning another award” after receiving significant backlash over his nomination for the Pat Tillman Award for Service, according to a royal commentator.
The Duke was recognized for founding the Invictus Games a decade ago. His wife, Meghan Markle, attended the ceremony and showed her full support.
Before the event, Admiral Lord Alan West, a former First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff from 2002 to 2006, urged Harry to decline the honour.
Mary Tillman also criticized the nomination, calling the Duke of Sussex a “controversial and divisive individual” upon learning he would receive the award named after her son.
The Pat Tillman Award, created to honor the former NFL player who joined the US Army after 9/11, is presented to individuals with a strong connection to sports who serve others in a way that reflects Tillman’s legacy.
A source revealed that the surrounding controversy has been challenging for Harry, given his long-standing commitment to helping veterans.
“Harry’s legacy on Invictus, the things he has achieved, that’s his real passion,” they told The Telegraph.
“This is the space in which he truly feels at home, it is something he deeply cares about. The reaction certainly took the shine off the award.”
Admiral Lord Alan West warned the Prince that “he ought to think very hard and long” about accepting particular awards.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said the award “was never going to be withdrawn”.
“There was no question Harry would accept this. The award was never going to be withdrawn,” he told The Sun.
“But there’s the fact that 70,000 people apparently have felt that it shouldn’t be.
“And that Pat Tillman’s mother, Mary, thought that he was not of a character the sort of person who should get it.
“I think that any award that doesn’t want controversy will think twice before awarding it to either the Sussexes in the future.”
Harry appeared to ignore the criticism and accepted the award on Thursday.
