Fans of the ESPYs will be treated to a bit of royalty as they will honor the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry at their award show in a few weeks.
Prince Harry will receive The Pat Tillman Award for Service, to recognize his work as the founder of the Invictus Games, which has hosted Olympic-style competitions for wounded service members since 2014.
“This one is for our entire service community,” he said after finding out he would be honored.
Other honorees will include former NFL player Steve Gleason, who will receive The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for his years documenting his experience with ALS, and University of South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley, who will receive The Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, for her contributions to women’s basketball.
“It’s our privilege to recognize three incredible individuals – Steve Gleason, Dawn Staley and Prince Harry,” said Kate Jackson, the vice president of production at ESPN. “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 revealed back in 2022 that the Invictus Games is expanding and will include winter sports starting next year in Vancouver, Canada a place that has become special to him and wife Meghan Markle.
“As Invictus continues to adapt and evolve, I am extremely excited to announce that the Invictus Games Foundation has selected Canada to host the first-ever Winter Hybrid Games in 2025,” he said. “The Invictus Games Vancouver-Whistler 2025 will offer a global platform to expand the range and profile of winter adaptive sports. With deep respect, I’m also pleased to share that the Games in Canada will be held in partnership with the First Nations, in the spirit of truth and reconciliation with Indigenous communities.”
This year, the games celebrated their 10th anniversary and may be the biggest charity event held by any remember of the royal family. Prince Harry served in the British Military for 10 years but was stripped of his titles by Queen Elizabeth after he and his family fled to America.
But that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to do work from the games. The games have given injured servicemen and women a chance to compete in sports despite their injuries.
Servicemen and women worldwide have participated in these games and it has played an important part in their recoveries.
Prince Harry was inspired to start these games after attending the US Warrior Games a few years ago. The fact that the games are expanding just shows how popular the games have become around the world and it’s obvious that his presence with this charity has helped.
Despite those who are still upset with the Prince and his wife for leaving their post with the British Monarchy, they continue to do charity work with various organizations around the world without their official royal titles. Prince Harry said that he can do charity work without a royal title and clearly, he was right.
The ESPYs will be on July 11th on ESPN.
