'BITTER PILL TO SWALLOW'
Harry ‘stunned’ by backlash to him winning award honouring war hero as veteran’s own mum says ‘he’s too privileged’
An expert labelled the saga a 'tragedy'
PRINCE Harry was stunned by the backlash he was hit with for winning an award honouring a war hero, a source has claimed.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, will be honoured with the Pat Tillman Award for Service for his Invictus Games work at the glittering ESPY Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday.
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The ESPY Awards (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) is run by the sports TV network ESPN and the Pat Tillman Award has previously been given to unsung heroes.
But when it was announced that Harry was a winner late last month, criticism quickly poured in.
Mary Tillman, the late war hero's mum, slammed Harry - while 10s of thousands of people signed a petition urging the decision be reconsidered.
A source has now claimed the backlash had been a hard pill to swallow for the Duke - who has proudly poured years of work into helping war veterans.
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The insider claimed that while Harry and his team are used to being criticised, he found discussion around his work with the military upsetting.
The source told the Telegraph: “Harry’s legacy on Invictus, the things he has achieved, that’s his real passion.
“This is the space in which he truly feels at home, it is something he deeply cares about. The reaction certainly took the shine off the award.”
The Sun has approached the Sussexes for comment.
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It was revealed late last month that Harry would be honoured with the award for service - seeing Tillman's mum quickly lambast him.
Mary said there were others who were "far more fitting" and with less "privilege" who could win the gong.
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She told Daily Mail: "There are recipients that are far more fitting. There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans.
"These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections or privilege that Prince Harry has. I feel that those types of individuals should be recognised."
And a petition, started on June 27 to ask "ESPN to rethink awarding the Pat Tillman Award to Prince Harry", had clocked up 67,000 signatures to date.
One signatory said: "Pat Tillman sacrificed his life for duty and country.
"Harry walked away from duty and country and spit on his commander in chief, country, duty and family on his way out.
"All for a Hollywood dream. I’m appalled as an American that you would give him this award. It now means nothing."
Harry winning award a 'tragedy' - expert
Prince Harry winning an ESPY award is a “tragedy” and the mum of NFL legend Pat Tillman is “right to be disturbed,” a royal expert has said.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, is due to be honoured with the Pat Tillman Award for Service for his Invictus Games work at the glitzy ESPY Awards in Los Angeles on July 11.
The ESPY Awards (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) is run by the sports TV network ESPN and the Pat Tillman Award has previously been given to unsung heroes.
For the last 10 years the Pat Tillman Award for Service has been "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 US Army Ranger, Pat Tillman," according to ESPN.
Tillman’s life was tragically cut short when he was killed by friendly fire while serving in Afghanistan.
Pat’s mum, Mary, has previously hit out at the Duke saying there are others "far more fitting" and with less "privilege" who could win the gong.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said: “It's a very, very sad situation, and I think this is one of the reasons Mary Tillman, the mother of Pat, believes that Harry isn't fit, and that is a wasted opportunity.
"In my opinion, I think it's been a tragedy all round.”
While Richard backed Harry’s work with the Invictus Games, saying it was a “remarkable achievement” he said it had been a "missed opportunity".
Richard added: “Consider what they could have achieved but also what they could have done in an addition to Invictus and other charities for others.
“If you look at the way members of the Royal Family, tirelessly, very often without publicity, carry out royal duties, it's very important to see.
“Yes, that Invictus was something that was remarkable, but equally it could have been followed by so much more that was also remarkable, and would have helped others in certain charities.
"Issues like gender equality, racial equality, discrimination of various sorts, and so forth, which they feel so strongly about as senior working members of the royal family, and they had a unique opportunity to do this.”
While another wrote: "There are others far more deserving. This is a slap in the face."
ESPN states that for the last 10 years the Pat Tillman Award for Service has been "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".
Harry was offered the gong "in honour of his tireless work in making a positive impact for the veteran community".
ESPN said the Invictus Games has "transcended borders and impacted lives across every continent".
The duke founded the Invictus Games a decade ago to support injured and sick servicemen and women - both on active duty and veterans.
It comes despite Harry courting controversy by boasting of killing 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
What happened to Pat Tillman?
ESPN recounted Tillman's tragic death in 2014 as the 10th anniversary approached.
Tillman was a safety with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals for four seasons before joining the Army.
He enlisted eight months after 3,000 people were killed in the September 11 terror attacks.
Tillman, a California native, turned down a contract offer of $3.6 million when he joined the military.
"The events leading up to one of the most infamous friendly-fire deaths in US military history were rife for second-guessing from the start," reported ESPN.
"After an Army Humvee broke down in the mountains, Tillman's platoon was divided by superiors so that the Humvee could be removed; a local truck driver was hired as the hauler.
"But the two groups struggled to communicate with each other as they traversed the steep terrain. And the second group soon became caught in a deafening ambush, receiving fire as it manoeuvred down a narrow, rocky canyon trail."
A squad leader would misidentify an allied Afghan soldier positioned next to Tillman as the enemy, according to ESPN.
Soldiers would fire upon what Army Ranger Steven Elliott called "shadowy images," ESPN reported.
He wrote in his memoir Spare that he'd taken "chess pieces off the board", sparking ex-colonel Tim Collins to respond it was "not how you behave in the army".
Retired military officer Colonel Richard Kemp says the award is just "celebrities massaging each other’s egos".
He previously told The Sun: "He was a gunner in an Apache helicopter in Afghanistan but so were many, many other people.
“I can think of many people who did pretty extraordinary things while serving in the British and American armed forces which would be much more deserving of an award like this.
“It is obviously because of who he is - not what he did. An Apache is crewed by two people - a pilot and a gunner. Harry was a gunner. He was number two in the aircraft.
“There have been some incredible aeronautical exports from helicopter pilots in Afghanistan, Iraq and other war zones.
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“There are some extraordinary stories - many covered by The Sun - involving enormous flying skill and bravery.
“As far as I’m aware Harry - though I commend him for going out there and doing it - did not accomplish feats like these.”
Prince Harry's Army career
Prince Harry entered RMAS in May 2005 to begin 44 weeks of Officer Cadet training, this was after passing his Regular Commissions Board (RCB), the qualification necessary to train at Sandhurst, in September 2004.
In January 2006, Clarence House announced he was to join the Blues and Royals, after which he was commissioned as an Army officer on 12 April that year.
The Duke of Sussex served in the Army for ten years, undertaking two tours of Afghanistan.
The father of two rose to the rank of Captain at the peak of his military career which began in 2004.
During his time serving, he qualified as an Apache Aircraft Commander.
In his memoir Spare he revealed he flew six missions during his second tour of duty which resulted in "the taking of human lives" of which he was neither proud nor ashamed.
His decision to leave the Army was confirmed in March 2015.
Prince Harry ended his military career at the rank of captain in June 2015, following a secondment to the Australian military.
General Sir Nicholas Carter, the then-Chief of the General Staff, said that Prince Harry had "achieved much in his 10 years as a soldier".