Tennis superstar Serena Williams created a viral moment during her opening monologue as presenter at the ESPYS on Thursday, jokingly telling friends Prince Harry and Meghan Markle not to overshadow her.
Williams acted as host of the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards (ESPYs) at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on July 11 in front of an audience made up of some of the biggest names in sport.
Seated among them were also British royals, Harry and Meghan, whose attendance was to acknowledge the prince being named recipient of the Pat Tillman Award for Service, which coincides with the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games veterans sports tournament.
In her monologue, Williams picked out the duke and duchess in the crowd, telling the attendees to "give it up for them," which was followed by cheers and applause.
The tennis star, who is also a longtime friend of the couple, then went on to poke fun at the oftentimes controversial debates in both social media and the press that follow their developments.
"Please, Harry and Meghan, try not to breathe too much tonight," she joked. "Because this is my night and I don't want to be overshadowed by the accusations that you guys are taking up too much oxygen. OK?"
This roused laughter from the crowd, with Harry and Megan also finding the funny side, captured in a reaction shot on the live event coverage.
Footage of Williams' royal comment has been picked up by a number of the couple's fans across social media on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, reaching viral numbers.
Uploaded to X by user Sussex5525 on July 12, the clip has been viewed over 110,000 times so far, gaining in excess of 2,500 likes.
Williams' friendship with Meghan pre-dates the duchess' relationship with Harry, with them first meeting at a charity sports event back in 2014.
The tennis star was a guest at the royal wedding in 2018 and as a member of the royal family, Meghan attended Wimbledon to watch her friend play in 2018 and 2019.
After splitting from the monarchy in 2020, Meghan had Williams as a guest on the first episode of her hit podcast Archetypes, affirming their connection in the U.S.
Harry and Meghan's ESPYs appearance culminated in the prince giving an on-stage acceptance speech for his award, in which he paid a personal tribute to miliary veterans and the family of U.S. Army Ranger hero Pat Tillman—who died during a 2004 tour of Afghanistan in a friendly fire accident amid an enemy ambush, and for who the Pat Tillman Award for Service is named.
"There is a military expression that dates back to Roman times. I'll spare you another Latin lesson but the phrase translates roughly to 'leave no one behind,'" Harry ended his speech to the ESPY audience with.
"They hold particular significance for the U.S. Army Rangers, and I have no doubt Pat Tillman and his comrades lived by those words.
"So, it is fitting that I end with them and make a promise on behalf of all of us at the Invictus Games Foundation. No matter the road ahead, we are here for you. We will leave no one behind."
Newsweek approached representatives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle via email for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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