Prince Harry Makes Low-Key Appearance at Gala Tied to His Pat Tillman Award

The Duke of Sussex received the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPY Awards in July

Prince Harry continued his relationship with the Pat Tillman Foundation on Wednesday, Nov. 6, by making a low-key appearance at the organization’s 20th annual Tillman Honors gala in Chicago.

The Duke of Sussex, 40, attended the entire gala, which included a keynote address from 2020 Tillman Scholar Bradley Snyder, a five-time gold medalist at the Paralympic Games. The prince sat next to Pat Tillman’s widow, Marie Tillman Shenton.

Before the gala, the prince attended a leadership development session with Pat Tillman Foundation CEO Dr. Katherine Steele, retired NFL quarterback Jake Plummer and motivational speaker Israel Del Toro. Prince Harry’s appearance was a surprise to the 40 Tillman scholars. At the session, footage of their reactions were featured in a video the Pat Tillman Foundation released on Friday, Nov. 8.

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Prince Harry received the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPY Awards on July 11, in recognition of his impact on the veteran community as the Founding Patron of the Invictus Games. When Harry accepted the award, he expressed his “deepest gratitude to everyone at the Pat Tillman Foundation,” including Tillman Shenton, who was in the audience. He also acknowledged Tillman’s mother, Mary Tillman.

“Her advocacy for Pat’s legacy is deeply personal and one that I respect,” Harry said of Tillman’s mother. “The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses.”

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The decision to present Harry with the award was debatable, with Mary telling the Daily Mail she was “shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award.”

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ESPN later responded to Mary’s comments: "ESPN, with the support of the Tillman Foundation, is honoring Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, specifically for the work of The Invictus Games Foundation as it celebrates its 10th year promoting healing through the power of sport for military service members and veterans around the world. While we understand not everyone will agree with all honorees selected for any award, the Invictus Games Foundation does incredible work, and ESPN believes this is a cause worth celebrating."

Harry is a veteran himself, having served in the British Army for 10 years.

Tillman was an NFL player who left his career behind to enlist in the military after Sept. 11, 2001. He died in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004 at age 27. He received the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals posthumously.