Prince Harry is set to receive a special award for this service as a military helicopter pilot.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, was announced on Wednesday, January 10, as one of the honorees for the 21st Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards. The ceremony will be held on January 19 and will be hosted by John Travolta.
In addition to Harry, there are three other honorees who will be acknowledged for their contributions to the aviation field, including former Navy pilot and world-renowned writer Fred George, CEO of flight training company CAE Inc. Marc Parent and former world speed record holder and film pilot Steve Hinton.
Harry is receiving the award for his 10 years of military service with the British Army as a helicopter pilot. He received many honors for his service, including his Flying Wings. He also created the nonprofit Invictus Games, an annual charity event for wounded service members and veterans around the world.
The former royal wrote about his time in the military in his 2023 memoir, Spare. In the book, he reflected on some of the dangerous missions he was on during his army tenure. Harry was candid about the lives he took during his two tours of duty in Afghanistan, claiming that he killed more than two dozen Taliban militants as a helicopter pilot in 2012 and 2013.
While he received backlash for including those memories and was accused of “boasting” over his wartime experience, Harry explained he chose to include his past service in the book so he could help fellow veterans who struggle with PTSD and other mental health issues once they return home.
“I think the most important thing here is, not only the context, but the reason why I decided to share this in my book,” he said during a January 2023 appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. “To the vets here and to the civilians here — which this may feel as though this is slightly a weird conversation to have, especially on this show of all shows — I made a choice to share it, because having spent nearly two decades working with veterans all around the world, I think the most important thing is to be honest and to be able to give space to others to be able to share their experiences without any shame.”
While Harry is proud of his military accomplishments, he also faced some challenges from members of the royal family. After Harry and wife Meghan Markle made their official exit from the royal family in 2020, the duke lost his three honorary military titles: Captain General Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington and Commodore-in-Chief of Small Ships and Diving.
When it came time for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022, Harry was not allowed to wear his uniform for the memorial service. Despite not being allowed to don the military regalia, Harry shared during his 2023 Invictus Games speech that the uniform is only a small part of what it means to be a military man.
“For many of you, the uniform that you’ve been wearing this past week will give you a new story to tell. And for others, it may give your old uniform new meaning,” he said to the crowd in September 2023. “But I’m here to remind you that after all of this, you don’t need to rely on a uniform, nor should you ever feel lost without one. Why? Because everything you need is already within you.”
