The UK’s Prince Harry is embroiled in yet another controversy for accepting the ESPN Pat Tillman award. The prize is named after a former NFL player who left behind a life of wealth and glamor to join the US Army Rangers in the wake of 9/11. He died in Afghanistan under friendly fire. The award sparked a row in the US, where Harry and his Californian wife Meghan had previously been welcomed with open arms.
Many critics argued that Harry did not deserve the award, primarily because there were so many other potential winners, and most did not have the money and privilege in which the British King’s son grew up. Mary Tillman, whose son inspired the award, joined the chorus of condemnation and described the Prince as a “controversial and divisive individual.” A petition agreeing with Mary Tillman attracted over 75,000 signatures.
Commentators have reflected on the Harry and Meghan story since the couple left the UK for California in 2021, with many suggesting their popularity in America is all but diminished. Upon arrival, the couple fascinated the American public with notable events, including their sit-down chat with talk show queen Oprah Winfrey. While this controversial interview gripped the American public, the British were less enthusiastic, and Harry’s popularity in his home country plummeted.
In Britain, the Royal family is highly revered, and the public expects members of the institution to keep their private lives private. Many were, therefore, disgusted at Harry’s willingness to attack the ancient institution from abroad.
Worse was to come, however, with the publication of Harry’s tell-all memoir, “Spare.” Published in 2023, “Spare” was unprecedented. Never before had the British public known a book to shine such a critical light on the Royal family from the inside. In it, Harry discussed a stifling and unemotional childhood inside one of the most regulated institutions in the world. He also sensationally expressed his view about the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. “The people that were predominantly responsible for it all got away with it,” he wrote before demanding access to secret UK government files about the Princess’s death in a traffic accident in Paris.
The Prince and his wife, Meghan Markle, faced yet more backlash, including in America, when Netflix published a six-part documentary about the glamorous couple. The Rotten Tomatoes website, which hosts reviews of movies and TV shows, registered a mere 19% audience approval. Critics slammed the couple, saying they saturate the media to the point of audience exasperation. One journalist wrote that Americans were “bored out of their minds” hearing from Harry and Meghan, while another commented that they clearly felt “honor-bound to keep reciting their personal story until we eventually lose interest.”
ESPN, which runs and organizes the Tillman Award, justified giving the prize to Harry, saying he works “tirelessly” for veterans, particularly through his creation of the Invictus Games—an Olympic-like sporting contest in which wounded war veterans compete. The Invictus Games were first held in 2014, and the name reflects the Latin word for “unconquered.”
