A former royal family insider said he had expected Prince Harry to decline the Pat Tillman Award for Service, but that he ultimately decided to accept it to “stand up for what he believes in.”

The Duke of Sussex accepted the award Thursday night at the 2024 ESPY Awards. News that he had won the honor sparked controversy, including from Tillman’s mother, Mary Tillman. She said in June, “I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award.”

There had been speculation Prince Harry might turn down the award amid the controversy, which would not have surprised former royal family butler Grant Harrold.

“I thought he was going to decline it because that’s just his nature,” Harrold told the New York Post. “But maybe Harry has got to a point where he’s just decided he’s going to do what he wants and as I said, because of his military background and because of the Invictus Games, it’s something he feels really passionate about.

“He’s accepting the award on the behalf of military personnel, so in a weird way he probably sees it as his duty to accept it.”

ESPN’s Pat McAfee had also criticized the decision to honor Prince Harry, saying the network was “trying to piss people off.” Given the controversy, there had been speculation Prince Harry would get a cool reception from the ESPYs audience, but he got a warm welcome, then gave an emotional speech in which he even paid tribute to Mary Tillman.

Harrold said the award showed “people appreciate what (Prince Harry) does with the Invictus Games, it also shows people respect him for what he has done from his career in the military, which I think is also important.”

The award honors the late Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals defensive back who left the NFL to enlist in the U.S. Army following 9/11. He was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2004.

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