Is this why you hot-footed it back to Las Vegas, Harry?
ROYAL watchers were left puzzled as to why Prince Harry did not stay longer in the UK after he flew across the Atlantic to see his father for just a few minutes.
Now the answer seems clear. On Thursday, he popped up in Las Vegas to hand out an award at a celebration of American football stars.
The 39-year-old prince cracked joke after joke as he took to the stage at the Resorts World Theatre for his surprise appearance at the NFL Honours event – just a day after arriving back in the US from his whirlwind 25-hour visit to the
‘Prince freakin’ Harry – I’m in shock’
UK. Harry flew 5,456 miles from Los Angeles to London on Monday night before meeting King Charles, 75, the next day following his shock cancer diagnosis.
King Charles had called his sons personally to tell them although it is not clear when this took place. Harry notably did not share any public message of support for his father but his brother William used a charity event earlier this week to thank the nation for the wellwishes following the announcement on Monday.
Introducing the award for Man of the Year at the NFL Honours, Harry referred to how Americans ‘stole rugby from us and made it your own’, adding: ‘Instead of passing it backwards, just pass it forwards. Why not wear pads and a helmet? And why not have a breather every 15 seconds? Instead of a 10-month season, let’s just make it 18 weeks. Genius. All kidding aside, what you guys do on and off the field is truly remarkable.’
He handed the award to Cameron Heyward, of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who said: ‘Prince freakin’ Harry. I’m in shock. That’s Prince Harry.’ The NFL has not confirmed whether Harry was paid to attend or if his flying costs were covered. While in the UK, Harry was escorted by a Metropolitan Police security team, despite the fact he is suing the UK home office for withdrawing his taxpayer-funded police protection after he quit royal duties.