Prince Harry presents the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award at the 13th Annual NFL Honors on February 8, 2024 in Las Vegas.Photo:Perry Knotts/Getty
Perry Knotts/Getty
Prince HarryandMeghan Marklehad no intention of attending theSuper Bowlon Sunday, despite theDuke of Sussex’s appearance at the NFL Honorsa few days earlier, PEOPLE understands.
On Thursday, Harry, 39, made a surprise appearance at Thursday’s NFL Honors in Las Vegas, where he took the stage to award the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year honor to Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward.
The matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas is just a short flight from the couple’s home in Montecito, California, where they live with their sonPrince Archie, 4, and their daughterPrincess Lilibet, 2. Harry and Meghan werelast in Las Vegastogether for the final show ofKaty Perry’s residency Play in November 2023.
Buckingham Palace announced last Monday that King Charles has been diagnosed with “a form of cancer,” and Prince Harry flew to visit him the following day. It’s understood that the King, 75,personally informedhis sons, Prince Harry andPrince William, before the public announcement, which came in a 138-word statement issued one week after the monarchleft the hospitalfollowing a three-day stay after surgery for abenign enlarged prostate. However, the palace clarified that he does not have prostate cancer.
Prince Harry presents the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award to Pittsburgh Steelers' Cameron Heyward during the NFL Honors award show ahead of the Super Bowl 58 football game Thursday,.AP Photo/David J. Phillip
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
“All kidding aside, all you guys do on and off the field is truly remarkable,” Prince Harry continued. “You are role models for millions in the way you carry yourselves and in the way you give back. This final award, the highest honor, is all about serving your community. And there’s one special man we’d like to pay tribute to now. A player who goes above and beyond and whose extraordinary commitment to helping others is a reflection of his own story.”
Reacting to the presenter, Heyward said, “Man, Prince freaking Harry. Man, I’m in shock. That’s Prince Harry.”
The event wasn’t his first brush with the NFL. Harry wasspotted in the standsat the 2022 Super Bowl in Inglewood with his cousinPrincess Eugenie.
Karwai Tang/WireImage
Prince Harry, a former captain in the British Army, founded the international adaptive sports tournament for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans in 2014.
Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance via Getty Images
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source: people.com
