Meghan Markle made a surprise appearance at the ESPY Awards on Thursday to support Prince Harry as he accepted the 2024 Pat Tillman Award for Service. The Duke of Sussex expressed his “deepest gratitude” to the Pat Tillman Foundation, named after the late NFL star and US Army Ranger, and acknowledged Tillman’s mother, who was initially “shocked” by the decision to give the award to Harry. She Talk to Daily mail that the award should go to someone less “privileged.”
“I want to thank the Tillman family, especially Mrs. Mary Tillman, Pat’s mother. Supporting Pat’s legacy is a very personal thing and I respect that very much,” Harry said, with Meghan looking on proudly from the audience. “The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest loss.”
Harry was awarded the award in recognition of his work with the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style competition he founded in 2014 for veterans and injured servicemen, after 10 years of service in the British Army. Previous recipients of the Pat Tillman Award Sergeant Kirstie Ennis, First Sergeant Class Elizabeth Marks, and Sergeant Israel Del Toro took the stage to present Harry with this special honor.
“The truth is, I stand here not as Prince Harry, recipient of the Pat Tillman Award, but as the voice of the Invictus Games Foundation and the thousands of veterans and servicemen from more than 20 countries who make the Invictus Games a reality,” the duke said in his acceptance speech. “This award belongs to them. Not to me.”
He went on to talk about the division and conflict around the world fueled by ignorance towards those who are different. He praised the Invictus Games for their ability to bring people together around courage and mutual respect, saying the games had reduced the number of veteran suicides over the past decade. “Our community has proven that unity is not only possible, but desirable,” he said.
The annual ESPY Awards celebrate the past year in sports by recognizing major athletic achievements, reliving unforgettable moments and honoring top performers and performances. Tennis Stars Serena Williams The 32nd live show was held this year at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
About five minutes before filming began on Thursday night, Harry, wearing a black suit, and Meghan, wearing an elegant white backless dress by Staud, emerged from a door inside the Dolby Theatre auditorium and headed straight to their front row seats, holding hands. The ceremony began with a rousing performance by Ciara, who sang a medley of her hits. As Ciara twirled and the audience cheered and clapped, an impressed Meghan leaned over to Harry and whispered something in his ear. The two smiled.
Williams appeared on stage next with his opening monologue, delivering clever witty one-liners about Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce reportedly spent $100,000 a day on their romance. She also had a few rants Will Smith to describe her father in King Richard and slap Chris Rock at the Oscars and made a humorous reference to the feud between Kendrick Lamar And Drake. Williams ended her monologue by joking that she didn’t want Harry and Meghan, her longtime friend, to steal the spotlight on her big night as host.
“Prince Harry and Meghan are here. Let’s give them a shout-out,” Williams said. “But please, Harry and Meghan, try not to breathe too much tonight, because this is my night. I don’t want to be overshadowed by accusations that you’re using too much oxygen, okay?” The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were seen on the auditorium’s big screen, laughing at the joke.
Meghan and Williams have known each other since 2010, when they met at a Super Bowl event. Since then, they’ve supported each other at fashion line launches, podcasts, polo matches—most recently the Royal Salute Polo Tournament in Florida in April—and Grand Slam tennis tournaments like Wimbledon and the US Open. Williams and her husband, the cofounder of Reddit Alexis Ohanian, attended Meghan and Harry’s wedding in 2018.
“Full disclosure: I was happy to be invited to their wedding, but I can’t say I know them that well,” Ohanian said. Vanity Fair on the red carpet before the awards ceremony. “Serena and Meghan are very close. I have met them, and certainly every interaction we have had, has been great. He and Meghan are huge supporters of my wife, and that is very important to me…. I look forward to meeting them and seeing him win an award, and I will be clapping for him.”
During the first commercial break, Venus Williams came over and greeted Harry and Meghan with a hug. She sat to Harry’s right; Meghan leaned toward him to chat with Venus. Meanwhile, Ohanian, along with his and Serena’s six-year-old daughter, Olympia, sat a row behind the royal family. Shortly after, a cameraman walked up to the royal family for a close-up, and Meghan greeted him with a fist bump. Harry followed suit with a similar gesture.
After Harry accepted his award, Meghan joined him backstage. There, the couple met Serena and chatted animatedly while photographers snapped away. An hour later, the royals returned to their seats just in time to watch the host perform a musical number about her feud with the tennis star. Maria Sharapova. Meghan clapped and laughed as her friend sang. She even gasped when Serena pulled a provocative move and said she and Sharapova were “like the boys from The challengers, but much hotter.”
With 30 minutes left until showtime, Meghan and Harry started to leave the theater early. She hugged Ohanian and said goodbye to Olympia and Venus. Harry took Meghan’s hand and led her out of the theater.
“[Prince Harry’s] very normal. Treat him like a normal person, and he respects everyone,” the skiing champion and Olympic gold medalist recalled Lindsey Vonn in a red carpet interview. “He has time for everyone. He’s a really nice guy and Meghan is incredible. I had a really great experience meeting them. They’re a great couple and they really support each other.”
