Prince Harry to receive prestigious aviation award for his time in the military

July 07, 2024

Prince Harry is set to receive an aviation award for his service to the military during his 10-year military career.

The royal had many different ranks while in the British army, including Officer Cadet and rising to the rank of Captain. He undertook missions in Australia, the UK, and the US. He also served some time in Afghanistan. One of the roles he fulfilled was as a helicopter pilot, for which he will receive the award. Prince Harry has spoken about his time in the Army through the years, including in his controversial memoir, Spare.

Prince Harry will receive an aviation award

Prince Harry will be inducted as a Living Legends of Aviation at the ceremony on January 19. The awards are going into its 21st year and will be hosted by Hollywood legend John Travolta.

Harry will be honored alongside three others who have also served in the Army. They are Fred George, a Navy pilot and world-renowned writer, former world speed record holder and film pilot Steve Hinton, and CEO of flight training company CAE Inc. Marc Parent.

This isn’t the first award the 39-year-old has received for his service, as he has previously received his Flying Wings.

Despite no longer serving, the Duke of Sussex has continued to champion those who have, and continue to, serve. He created The Invictus Games, an international, multi-sport tournament. It sees service people (both past and present) who are wounded, injured, and sick take part. He made a documentary about the games for Netflix. It was during the deal he and his wife, Meghan Markle, had with the streaming service.

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Harry’s military controversy

A year before it was announced he would receive the aviation award, Prince Harry spoke about his military career in his 2023 book, Spare. He was criticized by readers for “boasting” about his time in Afghanistan, as he revealed he kept count of those he killed.

Later, he defended his choice to speak about that part of his career during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. He explained his belief that “context was important.” He said he wished for conversations about the mental health and PTSD of those who serve 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. “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 show.

“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.”

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