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Prince Harry Is Getting an ESPY Award

Next month, Prince Harry will be honored with an ESPY Award for his work as a co-founder of the Invictus Games, ESPN announced Thursday.

ESPY Award

Photo: Getty

Harry is this year’s Pat Tillman Award for Service honoree, selected for his “tireless work in making a positive impact for the veteran community through the power of sport,” according to a press release from the network. Harry recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, the international, Paralympics-style competition he co-founded to help veterans, active military, and their families use the power of sport to understand their own resilience in the face of visible and invisible wounds. Harry and Meghan have been especially vocal about mental health issues and their impact on military personnel’s lives. Invictus’ programming goes beyond the Games event, and offers events and support to servicemembers and their families year-round.

At a panel earlier this year, Harry said that he was inspired to found the Invictus Games after seeing the U.S. Department of Defense’s Warrior Games in 2012. He was moved by the event, and dreamed of creating something bigger.

“Sport was the magic that I witnessed,” he said of the experience. “Having just come back from Afghanistan myself, seeing the wounded, injured and sick and seeing the effect this was having on all the families, and just the weight—the load on defense and on the individuals and on the rehabilitation programs. There just wasn’t enough being done.”

The first Games were held in London in 2014, with participants from 13 countries. Now, Invictus welcomes competitors from 23 countries.

ESPN praised the Games in its release for having “evolved into a globally celebrated and acclaimed organization that celebrates resilience, community, and healing through the power of sport.”

The award, which honors “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,” was presented last year to the training staff of the Buffalo Bills.

The 2024 ESPY Awards, hosted by Serena Williams, will air live on Thursday, July 11 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Originally published in Vanityfair.com

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