Prince Harry To Be Named 'Living Legend of Aviation' At Beverly Hills Ceremony

Prince Harry will be inducted at the 21st Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards in Beverly Hills on Jan. 19 for his "significant contributions to aviation/aerospace."

Actor and the "Official Ambassador of Aviation" John Travolta will host the ceremony, which will honour the Duke of Sussex's time in the British Army. The announcement from PR News Wire mentioned his ten years of service with the military where he flew training missions in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, and noted his two tours of Afghanistan "saving the lives of allied forces and countless civilians".

The royal will also be honoured for creating the Invictus Games, which benefits wounded service members and veterans globally. Prince Harry will be inducted as a "Living Legend of Aviation" alongside Marc Parent, Fred George and Steve Hinton.

Parent, the President and CEO of CAE, will be acknowledged for leading the "company's growth beyond simulation products to include training and support services for commercial and business aviation".

Meanwhile, George is a former Navy pilot who had over 300 carrier landings and is now a world-renowned aviation writer. American aviator Hinton is lauded for holding the "world speed record from 1979 to 1989", having flown as a pilot for film since 1977 and having worked on 100 motion pictures and TV productions.

"The Living Legends of Aviation are remarkable people of extraordinary accomplishment in aviation/aerospace; they include entrepreneurs, innovators, industry leaders, astronauts, record breakers, pilots who have become celebrities and celebrities who have become pilots. More than 100 men and women from across the world are among their ranks," reads the press release.

Prince Harry served as a helicopter pilot with the British Army, where he underwent flying training missions as well as engaged in combat missions in Afghanistan. He received his Flying Wings in 2010 after he completed the eighth-month Army Pilot Course with the Army Aviation Centre, where he learned how to fly the Firefly fixed-wing aircraft and the Squirrel helicopter and accumulated approximately 220 flying hours.

He became a fully operational Apache pilot in February 2012 after he spent over three years in training and operational service with the Apache Force during his tenure with the Army Air Corps, where he won the coveted prize for best co-pilot gunner during training.

Prince Harry launched the Invictus Games, a Paralympics-style sporting competition, in 2014 to help with the physical and mental rehabilitation of the wounded service personnel and veterans. The games were last held in Düsseldorf, Germany in September 2023 and will be heading to Vancouver and Whistler in Canada in 2025 from Feb. 6 to 17.