Prince Harry paid tribute to his mother Princess Diana on Friday night as he collected his ‘living legend of aviation’ award from John Travolta.
The Daily Mail reports that Harry, being recognised for his work as a helicopter pilot and gunner in the British Army, took to the stage at the Beverly Hills Hilton, where he spoke to Travolta of the actor’s famous dance with his mother at the White House in 1985.
Harry said: “I was just a one-year-old when you danced with my mum at the White House and now look at us.”
Travolta also remembered the famous occasion, saying: “Now I see you again under a new circumstance, on a new stage.”
Harry added: ‘The only thing left to do is… not dance together but fly together.’
Harry 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.
He told the audience: “For me, flying has been a transcendent experience. A close encounter with magic, an invitation to both protect freedom… and to feel free, and, funny enough, an opportunity to ground oneself, without actually being grounded.
“I find my flight training — which was over the course of three years— to be one of life’s greatest lessons. It triggered a vast array of feelings.”
Other aviation “legends” previously recognised at the awards include Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Jeff Bezos, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman and Elon Musk.
This was Harry’s first public appearance since news was circulated last week that both his father King Charles and his sister-in-law Kate Middleton would be undergoing medical treatment – Charles for an enlarged prostate, and Middleton for an undisclosed abdominal surgery procedure. She continues to recover in hospital in the UK, while Charles plans to be treated this coming week.
