Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s round of final engagements as working royals in 2020 had a special moment from an honoree at a London awards show, sparking a delighted reaction from the duchess that has since resurfaced on social media.
Harry and Meghan attended the Endeavour Fund Awards show on March 5, 2020, as part of their last round of royal engagements before moving to California. The couple had attended the awards together since 2018.
Harry established the fund in 2012 to help wounded, injured and sick armed-service personnel and veterans. In 2020, with the announcement that Harry would no longer be working within the monarchy, the fund was transferred from the Royal Foundation, which had been the joint charitable output of Harry, Prince William, Kate Middleton and latterly Meghan, to the Invictus Games Foundation.
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During the 2020 awards show, a veteran of the Welsh Guards regiment, Danny Holland, took the opportunity on-stage to propose to his girlfriend Lauren Price, to the delight of the royal couple in the audience.
Uploaded to TikTok by user, a.jmxn, video footage captured on the night shows Meghan’s eyes filling with tears as she applauded the accepted proposal with Harry.
The clip has been viewed over 250,000 times since being posted on May 25, and has received more than 13,000 likes.
Holland was on stage at the awards show having been presented with the Recognizing Achievement award after making a career as a motorsport driver following his involvement in an improvised explosive device blast while serving in Afghanistan.
Later in the evening, Meghan and Harry made speeches during the show. Meghan presented the Celebrating Excellence Award to former Royal Marine, Lee Spencer, who achieved a 2019 solo crossing of the Atlantic in 60-days, breaking the world record in the process.
During his speech, Harry paid tribute to the service personnel and their families who dedicated themselves to others, as well as referencing his own military service and hopes for the Endeavour Fund’s future.
The prince worked closely with British military charities and veterans after leaving the army in 2015. When he left school, Harry undertook military training at the famous Sandhurst Academy before being inducted into the Blues and Royals cavalry regiment of the British army.
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In 2007, the prince was deployed on a tour of Afghanistan as a forward air controller, helping to coordinate airstrikes against the Taliban. However, this tour of duty ended early after a press embargo was broken in the international media, revealing his location.
After retraining as an Apache helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps, Harry returned to Afghanistan in 2012, where he served as a co-pilot and gunner before returning to Britain.
The prince spoke at length about his military service and his experiences with veterans in his 2023 memoir, Spare. Though praised for his candid discussion of the mental health impact of active service, the royal faced criticism for a number of his revelations, including the disclosure that he had killed 25 Taliban fighters.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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