Meghan forced to miss Harry receiving Living Legends of Aviation award after one of their children 'became unwell'

20 January 2024, 12:09

Meghan Markle is said to have missed Priince receiving his Living Legends of Aviation awards due to one of their children becoming ill.

Harry was honoured for his work as a British Army veteran and pilot at the Beverly Hills ceremony on Friday.

But he was forced to attend without Meghan as one of their children became unwell, it is understood.

The 39-year-old completed two tours of Afghanistan as a forward air controller and an Apache helicopter pilot, having flown countless training missions in the UK, US and Australia.

He served for 10 years in the military, rising to the rank of Captain, and later founded the Invictus Games for wounded military personnel and veterans.

The prince took the opportunity to pay tribute to Diana as he accepted his award.

He told actor and aviation ambassador John Travolta: "I was just a one-year-old when you danced with my mum at the White House and now look at us."

He added: "The only thing left to do is... not dance together but fly together."

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Harry described his time in the air while serving as “being up in God’s playground” but when asked what he remembered of his first flight joked: “It’s classified.”

His appearance came as his father, King Charles, prepares to undergo treatment for an enlarged prostate in hospital next week and his sister-in-law, Kate, recovers from abdominal surgery in the London Clinic.

Harry was inducted alongside US navy pilot Fred George and former world speed record holder Steve Hinton, as well as Lauren Sanchez - who is engaged to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Other aviation and aerospace "legends" including Buzz Aldrin, Jeff Bezos, Tom Cruise, Neil Armstrong, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman and Elon Musk.

A statement from the event site read: "Prince Harry is a humanitarian, military veteran, mental wellness advocate and environmentalist.

"He has dedicated his life to advancing causes that he is passionate about and that bring about permanent change for people and places."

Harry's appearance at the awards came just hours after withdrawing his High Court libel claim against the publisher of the Mail on Sunday.

He sued Associated Newspapers Limited over an article published in February 2022 concerning his legal battle with the Home Office over security.

He claimed the story falsely suggested he had "lied" and "cynically" tried to manipulate public opinion.

But ahead of a deadline to hand over relevant documents, the Duke of Sussex’s lawyers informed the High Court on Friday that he was “discontinuing” his case.

He faces having to pay the newspaper’s costs of £250,000 along with his own lawyers’ fees, meaning a total legal bill of more than £750,000.