Royal news live: Prince Harry award backlash continues as Charles and Camilla’s Scotland trip cut short

Harry has been defended for his ‘incredible’ work with the Invictus Games

Prince Harry has been defended after a petition calling for a “rethink” on the decision to give him an award for veterans reached 50,000 signatures.

The Duke of Sussex, 39, is set to receive the Pat Tillman Award for his work with the Invictus Games, which celebrates the sporting achievements of wounded, sick and injured service people.

But many, including the late Tillman’s mother, Mary, have argued there are more deserving recipients.

Now the sporting network behind the award, ESPN, has defended its decision, hailing the “incredible” work of the games, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

“While we understand not everyone will agree with all honorees selected for any award, The Invictus Games Foundation does incredible work and ESPN believes this is a cause worth celebrating,” a spokesperson told Sky News.

This comes amid the revelation that King Charles and Queen Camilla’s trip to Scotland will be cut short due to the General Election.

They have postponed all events “which may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign”.

Queen Camilla has been praised for her commitment to literacy as this year’s Holyrood Week events begin.

The Queen Consort, 76, hosted several Scottish authors including Sir Ian Rankin and Val McDermid at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh yesterday (2 July).

After speaking to the queen, Rankin, best known for his Scottish crime thrillers, said: “She’s really interested in literacy. She wants young people reading, she wants everybody reading.

“There’s no stigma attached to writing, If you write comic books, if you write romance, if you write crime fiction, she’s a fan – anything that gets people reading.”