Prince Harry is to be honoured at a thrilling ceremony next week, as he is honoured by the 21st annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards. Taking place in Beverly Hills and hosted by actor and qualified pilot John Travolta, the Prince is one of four new inductees who are being recognised for their contributions to aviation and aerospace. The royal father-of-two served for a decade in the British Army, including three years flying training missions in the US, UK and Australia and combat missions in Afghanistan.
He will receive the honour on Friday, 19 January, alongside fellow aviators Fred George, a Navy pilot and writer, Marc Parent, President and CEO of Canadian Aviation Electronics, and Steve Hinton, who held a world speed record for a decade and has worked as a pilot on more than 100 movies and TV shows.
Emmy Award-winning journalist and anchor Lauren Sánchez will also receive the Elling Halvorson Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award, while the Dr. Sam B. Williams Technology Award will go to Linden Blue, Vice Chairman of General Atomics.
Harry has long held a love of aviation, being awarded his Flying Wings in 2010 after an eight-month, 220-hour course with the Army Aviation centre, where he learned to fly the Squirrel helicopter as well as the Firefly fixed-wing aircraft.
In 2014, he flew in a Spitfire with pilot instructor Phil O'Dell to raise awareness for the Spitfire Scholarship, a programme that offers training for wounded veterans, to allow them to experience a similar flight training programme to WWII pilots and take part in a flypast to mark the 75th Anniversary of The Battle of Britain.
On the day, one of the aircraft developed a mechanical fault and so kind-hearted Prince Harry gave his seat Tom Neil, a 95-year-old RAF veteran from the Battle of Britain. Harry showcased his philanthropy again last year, when he attended the WellChild awards in London to celebrate the incredible achievements and resilience of youngsters and their families.
The Duke, who has been the charity's patron for 16 years, sat down with each young award winner in turn and spoke with them about their interests and hobbies at the ceremony. Matt James, Chief Executive at WellChild, told HELLO!: "Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex has been Patron of WellChild since 2007. The Duke's passion for our work shines through when he meets the children and young people that WellChild supports, and their families.
"Over the last 16 years The Duke has continuously displayed his commitment to WellChild. He has generously given up his time to visit our families in their homes and in hospital, to meet our hardworking WellChild Nurses, and regularly attends the WellChild Awards, in association with GSK.
"He has regularly supported our fundraising efforts and most recently made a generous personal donation to WellChild from the proceeds of his book. We are extremely grateful to have a Patron who is genuinely committed to our vision; giving children with complex medical needs the best chance to thrive - at home."