Has America had enough of Prince Harry?

It must be a strange time to be Prince Harry. A year and a half ago, he was the most famous man in the world, thanks to the headline-grabbing publication of his autobiography Spare. Whether you thought it was brave, incisive and fascinating, or overwritten tawdry nonsense, it was hard not to have an opinion on both the book and its subject; Harry’s every movement and utterance was eagerly scrutinised. But an awful lot has happened since, not least the illnesses of his father and sister-in-law. Even his wife’s increasingly desperate-sounding America Riviera Orchard brand has overshadowed his own efforts to put himself in the spotlight.

So when he was offered the Pat Tillman Award for service by the American broadcaster ESPN, it seemed like both a pat on the back and an easy opportunity to return to public consciousness without a great deal of effort. The award was named after an NFL American football player and war hero who died in Afghanistan in 2004, and will be awarded at the ESPY awards, a prestigious ceremony described as ‘the sporting Oscars’.