Prince Harry was controversially nominated for the Pat Tillman Award for his work with the Invictus Games as he looks to lean into his work with the military.

Prince Harry is “feeling lost” as he attempts to “validate himself” using his links to the Armed Forces, a close pal of the late Princess Diana has said.

Richard Kay, who famously wrote Diana’s biography and developed a close bond to the Princess of Wales, believes the Duke of Sussex has appeared “lost” since quitting the UK for America with Meghan Markle in 2020. It comes as commentators believe the Sussexes are attempting to “reinvent” themselves.

Meghan has recently launched her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, while Harry has been promoting the Invictus Games. The pair also recently visited Nigeria in what was branded an “unofficial royal tour”.

However, speaking on the Palace Confidential podcast, Kay was asked whether Harry appears like he “feels a bit lost”. It comes after reports said Harry had “struggled to find his niche” after moving to Montecito.

He said: “It kind of feels like it’s been that way for the last four years, I mean he wanted to break away, he did break away, he turned his back on service but he’s sort of umbilically linked if you like still to that same cause because he needs to validate himself.

“Also it seems to me the one way he can validate himself is through his military links and no one is criticising those.