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The former head of the Royal Navy has waded into a military honours row after urging the Duke of Sussex to “think long and hard” about accepting an award named after an American war hero.
Prince Harry was drawn into another state-side brouhaha this week over the decision to hand him the Pat Tillman Award for his work with the Invictus Games – a sporting event he set up for wounded, injured and sick veterans.
The award is named after the late Pat Tillman, who dropped his career as a professional American footballer to join the US Army in the aftermath of 9/11. He was later killed in Afghanistan.
Harry, who also completed two tours of Afghanistan, was set to be handed the award by Serena Williams in a glitzy ceremony hosted by ESPN.
However, the decision to give him the honour has been criticised, including by Mr Tillman’s own mother, prompting calls for a rethink and even a petition urging the sports network to choose another recipient.
Now, an ex-Navy chief has warned the duke to turn down the award or run the risk of offending military veterans.
Admiral Lord Alan West, who headed the Royal Navy from 2002 to 2006, told the MailOnline that him accepting the award wouldn’t “travel well with people in the military” and said it would be “rather bad publicity”.
“I really think Harry should be well advised to sit back and not accept awards like this,” the Labour peer told the paper.
“It doesn’t travel well with people in the military. And when the mother of the man who died doesn’t want him to get this award, he should think about that.
“My advice to him is to sit back and not accept any awards at the moment. They are going his way because he has such a high profile and people want to take advantage of that.”
He added: “He ought to think very hard and long about accepting awards for things like being an exceptional pilot and being exceptionally brave.
“Some of the blame must lie with ESPN. They like picking him because it gives them immense publicity. But this is rather bad publicity for Harry.”
Tillman’s mother, Mary, says ESPN gave the award to Harry without consulting her and added that she believes there are more deserving recipients than the duke, who she described as “controversial and divisive”.
Her opinion was echoed by over 70,000 people who have signed a Change.org petition, which is urging ESPN to “rethink” its decision to give him the prince the award.
The backlash has taken “the shine off the award” for the prince, who reportedly finds criticism over his military record a “bitter pill to swallow”.
“Harry’s legacy on Invictus, the things he has achieved, that’s his real passion,” a source told The Telegraph. “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.”
Harry and Meghan’s biographer Tom Bower said the backlash was further proof that the couple are struggling with their public image state-side, at a time they are trying to re-brand.
“The backlash will make it more difficult for Harry’s team to get awards in the future,” He told The MailOnline.
“Prince Harry inhabits a gilded bubble seemingly unaware about the deep antagonism he and his wife have created. It’s become normal for his staff to lobby for important awards to shore up his reputation.”
Pat Tillman gave up a professional American football contract to enlist in the armed forced before his life was cut short in 2004.
The award, which is handed out at the ESPY Awards is given to individuals with a “strong connection to sports” who have similarly served their country.
The sporting network defended its decision in a statement and praised the “incredible” work Harry has done with the Invictus Games.
