ESPYs host Serena Williams pokes fun at friends Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and calls them 'actual royalty' as duke controversially accepts Pat Tillman Award watched by the Afghan war hero's widow

Serena Williams mercilessly poked amusive astatine her friends Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and said the LA ceremonial wherever the Duke of Sussex controversially collected a veterans’ grant was acceptable 'for royalty'.

Harry was fixed a lasting ovation by his woman arsenic helium accepted the Pat Tillman Award contempt the fallen soldier's parent declaring the royal is excessively 'privileged' and different soldiers were much deserving.

Mary Tillman was not astatine the ceremonial successful LA's Dolby Theatre but Pat's widow Marie was, and she sat adjacent to her 2nd hubby Joseph Shenton and watched connected earnestly arsenic the grant successful her precocious spouse's representation went to Harry.

Before helium stood up, big Serena made Meghan and Harry giggle astatine a bid of jokes astatine their disbursal - and her own.

Williams, who attended the Sussexes' royal wedding, said: 'It's beauteous often that I get to beryllium successful a country with existent royalty, and contiguous is nary exception', adding with a smile: 'Prince Harry and Meghan are here. Let's springiness it up for them'.

She continued: 'But please, Harry and Meghan, effort not to respire excessively overmuch tonight.

'Because this is my night, and I don't privation to beryllium overshadowed by the accusations that you guys are taking up excessively overmuch oxygen, okay?'

The camera past chopped to Meghan and Harry, who laughed successful the beforehand row.

Minutes aboriginal the Duke of Sussex was handed the Pat Tillman Award and spoke of the 'eternal bond' betwixt parent and lad - a motion to Mary Tillman and Princess Diana.

Harry has faced calls to cull the grant due to the fact that it has typically gone to unsung veterans. More than 76,000 radical signed a petition demanding the determination was reversed.

And Mary Tillman told the Mail past month that she was 'shocked' it would spell to 'such a arguable and divisive figure', adding: 'There are recipients that are acold much fitting. These individuals bash not person the money, resources, connections oregon privilege that Prince Harry has'.

But past nighttime astatine the glitzy ESPY Awards successful Los Angeles, hosted by Meghan's adjacent friend Serena Williams, Harry extended an olive subdivision to Mr Tillman's mother.

Meghan beamed with pridefulness arsenic Harry spoke of his 'respect' for however she was preserving her son's bravery and memory, arsenic helium besides applauded the sacrifice of wounded veterans and praised the Invictus Games successful his triumph speech. 

'Her advocacy for Pat’s bequest is profoundly idiosyncratic and 1 that I respect,' helium said. 'The enslaved betwixt a parent and lad is eternal and transcends adjacent the top losses.' 

Harry brushed disconnected calls for him to crook down the prize from critics including the erstwhile caput of Britain's Royal Navy Lord West, who warned the royal risked the wrath of subject veterans. 

The Pat Tillman Award is named aft the iconic NFL subordinate and precocious US Army Ranger who gave up his lucrative sporting vocation to enlist successful the service successful the aftermath of 9/11 earlier his decease successful Afghanistan successful 2004 owed to affable fire.

Prince Harry accepted the prestigious subject honour, and helium utilized his clip connected signifier to wage tribute to wounded veterans. 

As helium accepted the grant from 3 erstwhile winners, Harry - who served 2 tours successful Afghanistan - noted the struggles that subject unit look aft they instrumentality from duty. 

Although immoderate condemned the prime of Prince Harry for the award, ESPN defended it and cited his relation successful mounting up the Invictus Games - which helium mentioned arsenic helium dedicated the grant to 'the full work community'.

'Tonight, we observe healing done sport,' helium said, ending the code by addressing veterans astir the world, telling them: 'We volition permission nary 1 behind.'

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined different grant nominees including Patrick Mahomes and Caitlin Clark astatine the glitzy ESPN lawsuit connected Thursday evening, hosted by tennis fable Serena Williams. 

He began his acceptance code by expressing his 'deepest gratitude to everyone astatine the Pat Tillman Foundation' including the ex-NFL player's widow Marie Tillman Shenton who was among those attending.

He past made his remarks addressing Mary Tillman, earlier adding: 'I basal present not arsenic Prince Harry, Pat Tillman Award recipient, but alternatively a dependable connected behalf of the Invictus Games Foundation and the thousands of veterans and work unit from implicit 20 nations who person made the Invictus Games a reality.

'This grant belongs to them, not to me.'

He besides spoke of the inspiration Invictus Games competitors provided amid what helium called 'an property of polarisation and divison'.

The duke said: 'While truthful overmuch advancement has been made since those archetypal Invictus Games, the satellite extracurricular seems to beryllium successful an adjacent much precarious state.

'Conflicts rage astir the globe - choler and resentment towards those who are antithetic look to pervade societies everywhere.

'Our assemblage challenges that - our assemblage proves that unity is not conscionable imaginable but formidable.

'The quality of the Invictus Games lies successful however it brings radical unneurotic nary substance one's nationality, inheritance oregon idiosyncratic struggles.

'It is simply a collective, built from courageousness and communal respect - wherever athletes observe clip and clip again the communal denominator of their humanity.

'Having survived the crucible of equipped combat and forged done the situation to rebuild bodies and minds impacted by conflict, they signifier a family. They exemplify the precise champion successful each of us.  

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had received a immense cheer erstwhile they were announced by Williams, a adjacent person of Meghan, arsenic she jokingly warned them not to 'overshadow' her connected 'my night.'

Williams besides received a lukewarm invited connected signifier as she admitted the relation was a departure from her accustomed talents, saying: 'You whitethorn beryllium asking what I'm doing up here.' 

'This is my night,' she quipped portion pointing retired Harry and Meghan. 'I don't privation to beryllium overshadowed by you 2 breathing excessively overmuch oxygen.'

Williams besides paid tribute to the banner twelvemonth women's sports has had successful 2024, and took purpose astatine the hosts ESPN for a deficiency of airtime fixed successful years past.

Hours earlier the lawsuit began, a tiny craft flew a mysterious connection aimed astatine Prince Harry overhead, cryptically urging him to 'investigate Mum's death.'   

The announcement of Harry arsenic the victor past period drew scrutiny connected lawsuit organizers, with ESPN property Pat McAfee implying that Harry was picked arsenic a purposefully divisive victor to summation TV ratings. 

Mary Tillman besides claimed that she was not adjacent consulted implicit the winner. 

'These individuals bash not person the money, resources, connections oregon privilege that Prince Harry has. I consciousness that those types of individuals should beryllium recognized,' she said. 

ESPN rapidly defended its determination to springiness the grant to Harry pursuing Mary's remarks, saying it chose the Duke of Sussex ‘specifically for the enactment of The Invictus Games Foundation.’ 

‘While we recognize not everyone volition hold with each honorees selected for immoderate award, The Invictus Games Foundation does unthinkable enactment and ESPN believes this is simply a origin worthy celebrating,’ the web said successful a connection to the New York Post.

The grant notably joins unneurotic the worlds of athletics and the military, and aims to admit those who made 'remarkable civic contributions, bonzer fortitude, and tone of service' successful some realms.

Former winners of the grant came retired successful enactment of Harry aft critics scathed his victory, with 2017 and 2018 winners, US Marine Jake Wood and USAF Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro Jr. respectively, defending the Duke. 

Wood told TMZ that helium saw Harry's subject grounds arsenic deserving, with the royal having served successful 2 tours of Afghanistan, the aforesaid fig of tours helium himself had done. 

Del Toro Jr. besides cited Harry's enactment with the Invictus Games, and said helium was looking guardant to watching the royal triumph this year's award.

The Pat Tillman Award has antecedently been fixed to unsung heroes and ast twelvemonth it went to members of the Buffalo Bills American shot squad grooming unit who revived a dying subordinate connected the field.

An online petition urging ESPN to reassess its determination past nighttime had much than 75,000 signatures.

The petition leafage acceptable up by New Jersey nonmigratory Patti Mickel states: 'Prince Harry, portion a erstwhile subject officer, has been progressive successful controversies that call into question his suitability to person an grant of this magnitude.

'In contrast, Pat Tillman exemplified duty, honour, and sacrifice. He gave up his palmy NFL vocation to service his state aft the 9/11 attacks, and tragically mislaid his beingness during his service.

'Awarding this honour to idiosyncratic who does not bespeak the award's intent diminishes its worth and disrespects Tillman's memory.'

Comparisons person been drawn with however Harry, who completed 2 tours of Afghanistan arsenic an Apache chopper pilot, was recognised arsenic a Living Legend of Aviation astatine a star-studded ceremonial successful Beverly Hills, California, successful January.

As helium joined astronauts Buzz Aldrin and James Lovell successful collecting that honour, erstwhile Royal Navy caput Admiral Lord West said of Harry: 'He is not a surviving legend.'

Lord West said this week of the prince's latest honour: 'I truly deliberation Harry should beryllium good advised to beryllium backmost and not judge awards similar this.

'It doesn't question good with radical successful the military. And erstwhile the parent of the antheral who died doesn't privation him to get this award, helium should deliberation astir that.

'My proposal to him is to beryllium backmost and not judge immoderate awards astatine the moment. They are going his mode due to the fact that has specified a precocious illustration and radical privation to instrumentality vantage of that.'

Former NFL subordinate McAfee has besides been among ESPN's critics, saying: 'We should observe sports. The worldwide leaders should observe athletics but doing thing similar this is evidently trying to p*** radical off.'

He suggested a caller class grant conscionable for Harry, adding: 'ESPY for Royal Family subordinate who doesn't privation to beryllium called "Royal Family member" who loves sports?'

Sources adjacent to the prince person told of him feeling wounded by the backlash against the prize information - describing the fallout arsenic 'a bitter pill to swallow'.

One was quoted by the Telegraph arsenic saying: 'Harry's bequest connected Invictus, the things helium has achieved, that's his existent passion.

'This is the abstraction successful which helium genuinely feels astatine home, it is thing helium profoundly cares about. The absorption surely took the radiance disconnected the award.'

And erstwhile Pat Tillman Award victor Wood defended Prince Harry connected TMZ Live, saying: 'He's a royal prince - there's 100 antithetic things helium could person done with his beingness aft his work successful the British Armed Forces but he's chosen to dedicate a large information of his post-military beingness to helping veterans.'

Tillman was already a celebrated sanction successful the NFL earlier helium gave it up to enlist, having spent 3 palmy years playing for the Arizona Cardinals. 

In 2002, helium gave up a $3.6million, three-year declaration hold successful favour of the Army, and though his clip successful the subject captured headlines the aforesaid arsenic successful his NFL career, helium was earning conscionable $1,600-per-month earlier taxes, according to Bleacher Report.

He was archetypal deployed to Iraq successful March 2003, and returned to the US to implicit Ranger schoolhouse – a gruelling 62-day people – earlier re-deploying to Afghanistan successful April 2004.

Tillman’s decease conscionable weeks into his circuit of Afghanistan sparked a media frenzy, arsenic it was initially reported that Tillman died astatine the hands of 'enemy combatants' aft his squadron was ambushed.

However, it aboriginal emerged that Tillman had tally up a elevation during a weapon conflict to support his chap soldiers, but was really changeable 3 times successful the caput by his ain men successful a tragic lawsuit of affable fire.

The subject lone admitted the information a period aft Tillman's precise nationalist funeral, with galore speculating it did truthful to debar further atrocious property arsenic his decease came successful the aforesaid week that torture astatine the Abu Ghraib situation installation was exposed.

The Invictus Games was established successful 2014 by Harry arsenic an planetary multi-sport lawsuit for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women - including those inactive serving successful the equipped forces arsenic good arsenic veterans.

Earlier this week the prince told of being excited to spot the 'passion, determination, and resilience' of the Team UK squad taking portion successful the adjacent Invictus Games, the archetypal to see wintertime sports.

He predicted a 'memorable experience' scheduled for adjacent February successful Vancouver which volition see alpine skiing, snowboarding and skeleton, aft a 64-strong Team UK squad was named.

Harry and Meghan discontinue frontline royal duties successful January 2020 and moved crossed the Atlantic for a caller beingness successful Montecito, California, with their children Archie and Lilibet.

He released a tell-all memoir Spare successful January past year, which became the UK’s fastest-selling non-fiction publication aft helium clinched a £16million ($20million) beforehand arsenic portion of a £32million ($40million) four-book woody with publishers Penguin Random House.

The publication included allegations that helium was pushed into a canine vessel by his elder member Prince William during an statement implicit erstwhile TV amusement Suits histrion Meghan.

It besides claimed William teased Harry astir his panic attacks, that King Charles enactment his ain interests supra his 2nd lad and saw Harry speech astir taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms.

Harry and Meghan gave an interrogation to Oprah Winfrey successful March 2021 successful which they accused an unnamed subordinate of the royal household of raising concerns astir however acheronian their lad Archie’s tegument mightiness be.