Indicative of the closeness and solidarity of their relationship, Meghan Markle “put her neck on the line” by supporting her husband, Prince Harry, at the ESPYs, after his selection as the recipient of the Pat Tillman Award for Service was highly criticized, royal reporter Jack Royston said on “The Royal Report” podcast, per OK.
“She clapped for Harry, and she was there in the audience,” Royston said. “She could have tried to stay home and let Harry kind of step into the fire, step into the furnace alone. But she chose to be there for her husband, and she kind of risked putting her own neck on the line and her own reputation on the table to make sure he didn’t face an uncertain crowd alone.”
The ESPYs on July 11 were hosted by Meghan’s longtime friend Serena Williams, and Royston said that it would have “looked very bizarre if Meghan hadn’t gone”: “It would have looked very, kind of out of place if, you know, if one of your best friends was hosting and your husband’s collecting an award for you to stay home,” he said.
He added “You would have to think that it would look deliberate for people, so there was no neutral option for her,” Royston added. “She had to choose to stand with Harry or choose to abandon him. But, you know, clearly—from both a PR point of view and from a marital health point of view—I think it’s very good that she chose to stand by him.”
One of the most outspoken critics to Harry receiving the Tillman Award was Tillman’s own mother, Mary, who said, in part, that “There are recipients that are far more fitting.” In a deeply classy move, Harry spoke about Mary onstage while accepting the award, named for Pat Tillman, who left a career in the NFL to serve as a U.S. Army Ranger after the attacks of September 11, 2001, on the United States; he died in Afghanistan in 2004 at just 27 years old.
“I’d like to acknowledge the Tillman family, especially Mrs. Mary Tillman, Pat’s mother,” Harry said while accepting the award onstage. “Her advocacy for Pat’s legacy is deeply personal and one that I respect.” He added “The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses,” Harry said, harkening to the loss of his mother, Princess Diana, when he was 12 years old in 1997.
“I stand here not as Prince Harry, Pat Tillman Award recipient, but rather a voice on behalf of the Invictus Games Foundation and the thousands of veterans and service personnel from over 20 nations who have made the Invictus Games a reality,” Harry said, as Meghan watched proudly.
