Prince Harry gets an ESPY! Duke of Sussex to be handed ‘Pat Tillman Award for Service’ at glitzy LA bash hosted by Serena Williams
|Prince Harry will be honored with the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPYS, which take place next month and will be hosted by tennis legend Serena Williams.
The award is ‘given to a person with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger, Pat Tillman,’ according to ESPN.
The Duke of Sussex is receiving the award ‘in honor of his tireless work in making a positive impact for the veteran community through the power of sport.’
Former NFL safety Steve Gleason, who has been battling ALS since 2011, will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, while legendary basketball coach Dawn Staley will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.
Prince Harry served in the British armed forces for a decade before founding the Invictus Games Foundation, which has ‘created an international platform to support wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women.’
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Prince Harry will be honored with the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPYS
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The glitzy awards ceremony in Los Angeles will be hosted by tennis legend Serena Williams
Now in their 10th year, the Invictus Games see wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women – both serving and veterans – compete across different sports.
According to ESPN, The Invictus Games ‘have transcended borders and impacted lives across every continent, bringing together competitors from 23 nations, with continued support and programming 365 days of the year.’
Last year, the award went to to the Buffalo Bills Training Staff after they saved the life of Damar Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest on the field only to make a miraculous return to the NFL.
Manchester United and England star Marcus Rashford was given the Pat Tillman Award in 2021, after raising millions of dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic to help feed children.
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Manchester United and England star Marcus Rashford was given the Pat Tillman Award in 2021
Other previous winners include Kirstie Ennis, a former marine who lost her leg in Afghanistan before walking 1,000 miles across Britain for charity event and earning three swimming gold medals in swimming at the Warrior Games.
After announcing the ‘special honorees’ of this year’s ESPYS, which take place on July 11, ESPN’s Kate Jackson said: ‘It’s our privilege to recognize three incredible individuals – Steve Gleason, Dawn Staley and Prince Harry.
‘These honorees have used their platforms to change the world and make it more inclusive for marginalized and suffering communities, demonstrating incredible resilience, positivity and perseverance, and we’re thrilled to celebrate them at The 2024 ESPYS.’
Prince Harry, who is now based in Los Angeles with his wife Meghan and their two children Archie and Lilibet, has accepted a number of high-profile awards in recent years.
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Earlier this year, Harry was named an inductee into the ‘Living Legends of Aviation’, with the awards honoring ‘those who have made significant contributions to aviation/aerospace.’
Back in 2022, meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess were celebrated at the Ripple of Hope Awards for their work to battle racism and oppression.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle accepted the President’s Award at the NAACP Image Awards
The royal couple were joined at the event by other honorees including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Harry and Meghan were given the award by Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Robert Kennedy. She explained that the gong was in recognition of their speaking out against racism within the royal family.
Kennedy also praised the couple’s efforts in relation to the Black Lives Matter movement, and gender equality through Meghan’s Archetypes podcast.
That same year, Prince Harry and Meghan accepted the President’s Award at the NAACP Image Awards.
They appeared on stage in LA’s Pasadena Civic Auditorium to receive the award in recognition of special achievement and distinguished public service.
Harry and Meghan were honored for their work helping a Texas women’s shelter, promoting vaccine equity and creating community relief centers.
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Meghan Markle and Williams (pictured in 2014) first met at a Super Bowl party in 2010
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The tennis legend is pictured with her husband Alexis Ohanian at Meghan and Harry’s wedding
Prince Harry will receive another gong next month, with Meghan’s close friend Williams hosting the ESPYS.
The tennis legend first met the Duchess at a Super Bowl party in 2010. The couple invited Williams to their wedding. She also attended Meghan’s star-studded baby shower in New York City when she was pregnant with Archie.
The lavish shower was reportedly thrown for the Duchess by Williams and Amal Clooney in America’s most expensive hotel room – and $75,000-a-night penthouse suite.
It was claimed at the time that the baby shower was held in the Grand Penthouse Suite at The Mark hotel on New York’s Upper East Side.
According to a biographer of Serena, their friendship quickly evolved through frequent phone calls and texts, with Markle leaning on Serena for advice on how to handle the paparazzi and life as a mother.
WHY PRINCESS ANNE WAITED 36 YEARS FOR ROYAL TITLE FROM QUEEN
PRINCESS ANNE has one of the most unique titles in the Royal Family as Princess Royal. So why did she have to wait 36 years before the Queen granted her the prestigious honour?
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Princess Anne was given a Princess title when she was born, as her mother would later ascend the throne as Queen Elizabeth II. But unlike her three brothers, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, Princess Anne did not get a new royal title on her wedding day. She also had to wait nearly four decades before the Queen eventually gifted her the Princess Royal title.
Why did Princess Anne not get a title when she married?
Princess Anne was the first of her four royal siblings to tie the knot when she married Captain Mark Phillips in 1973.
Despite being the only daughter of the Queen, Princess Anne and her husband were not given new royal titles upon their marriage.
The Queen is thought to have offered Anne and Mark a title, but they are believed to have turned the offer down.
Why Princess Anne waited 36 years for royal title from Queen (Image: GETTY)
Princess Anne holds the title of Princess Royal (Image: GETTY)
For this reason, Anne and Mark’s two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, were born without royal titles too.
Under a Letters Patent issued by King George V in 1917, only the children of the monarch, and the grandchildren of the monarch through the male line, are eligible for Prince and Princess titles.
So as the grandchildren of the monarch through the female line, Peter and Zara were simply titled Master and Miss.
Sports star Zara has spoken warmly of her parent’s decision not to give them titles, telling The Times a few years ago: “I’m very lucky that both my parents decided to not use the title and we grew up and did all the things that gave us the opportunity to do.”
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Why did Princess Anne get the Princess Royal title?
Like the Prince of Wales title, the Princess Royal title is very unique.
With its first use in the British Royal Family recorded in the 1600s, the Princess Royal title is normally given to the eldest daughter of the reigning sovereign.
The title is life-long, and the previous holder before Anne was Princess Mary, the sister of King George VI.
The next holder of the Princess Royal title is likely to be Princess Charlotte (Image: GETTY)
When Princess Mary died in 1965, the title became vacant until it was given to Princess Anne in 1987.
When the Queen finally gave Anne the Princess Royal title, she was 36 years old.
The reason Anne had to wait for the title is due to the fact the Princess Royal title is not an automatic appointment.
The allocation of the Princess Royal title, much like the Prince of Wales title, is dependent on the whim of the monarch.
Will Zara Tindall be the next Princess Royal?
Although some royal titles pass down the male line, Princess Anne’s Princess Royal title will revert back to the Crown upon her death.
So the title will not be passed on to Anne’s only daughter, Zara Tindall.
The next holder of the Princess Royal title is likely to be Princess Charlotte, as one day she will be the only daughter of a King when Prince William ascends the throne.
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