Prince Harry was left "stunned" after his nomination at ESPYs received a furious backlash, GB News's Digital Royal Editor claimed.
Svar Nanan-Sen spoke on this week's episode of The Royal Record Podcast about the Duke of Sussex's appearance at the ESPYs and the reaction to his nomination for the Pat Tillman Award, which celebrates those who are "unselfish, humble, help others, do not seek recognition and lead by example".
He said: "Prince Harry was nominated for the award and it immediately sparked a huge backlash.
"Mary Tillman, Pat Tillman's mother, came out and said, 'I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award. There are recipients that are far more fitting.'
Prince Harry left 'stunned' after nomination sparks fury
Getty
"There was also a petition launched that had 70,000 signatures calling for Prince Harry to turn down the award, or for ESPN to nominate someone else."
Prince Harry, 39, served two tours of Afghanistan and launched the Invictus Games in 2014, an organisation supporting wounded and sick veterans with their recovery through sports, similar to the Paralympic Games.
However, the father-of-two was labelled "divisive" by Mary Tillman, the mother of the late serviceman whom the Pat Tillman Award is named after.
Tillman died in 2004 while serving under the US Military in Afghanistan, after giving up a lucrative career in the NFL.
Prince Harry has accepted a military award despite calls for him to reject the accolade
GettySince stepping down as working royals, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have become polarising figures due to their public criticisms of members of the Royal Family.
Svar continued: "ESPN argued that it was his work with the Invictus Games that made him a worthy candidate for this.
"Jake Wood, a previous winner of the award, said, regarding Prince Harry's nomination, 'He's a royal prince. There are 100 different things he could have done with his life after service in the British armed forces, but he's chosen to dedicate a big portion of his post-military life to helping veterans.'
"So there are some people in the military community that feel his work with the Invictus Games does justify an award like the Pat Tillman Service Award."
Cameron Walker [left] and Svar Nanan-Sen [right] discussed the backlash Harry received at the ESPYs
GB News
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Mary Tillman [right] spoke out negatively against the duke's nominationGettyThe Digital Royal Editor added: "Sources close to Harry said that he was left stunned by the reaction to the backlash to him being nominated for this award.
"But what I did think was interesting was he chose to address Mary Tillman in his acceptance speech and said he had respect for her and her family and everything that she's done in campaigning for veterans.
"He also said that he was accepting this award not as Prince Harry, but as a representative of the Invictus Games Foundation.
"So I think that's where his head's at, that the Invictus Games are bigger than him in terms of their impact on the military community."