Serena Williams jokingly told Prince Harry and Meghan Markle not to ‘breathe’ or ‘overshadow’ her at the 2024 ESPY Awards.

Serena Williams joked about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Image: ABC)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were caught awkwardly smiling after a brutal joke by close pal Serena Williams.

The tennis ace, who has been friends with the royal couple for over a decade, mentioned the pair during her opening monologue at Thursday night’s 2024 ESPY Awards.

The Duke of Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍 was picking up the esteemed Pat Tillman Award for Service at the lavish ceremony in Los Angeles.

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Harry has faced an intense backlash for receiving the ESPN award in honor of a fallen soldier and NFL player, with some warning it is “exceptionally bad publicity”.

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Host Williams drew attention to the Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍es at the start of the ceremony, joking that it’s actually quite often that she’s in a room with royalty.

After asking the audience to give them a warm reception, the tennis champion said: “But please, Harry and Meghan, try not to breathe too much tonight.

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Serena Williams hosted this year’s ESPY awards (Image: Getty)

“Because this is my night and I don’t want to be overshadowed by accusations you guys are taking up too much oxygen.”

The couple took the joke in very good spirits and were seen laughing when the camera panned to them in the audience.

Serena has been a close friend of the Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍es, having first met Meghan at the 2010 Super Bowl.

Writing in her The Tig blog in 2014, Meghan said: “We are both the same age, have a penchant for hot sauces and adore fashion, but what connects us more than those things is perhaps our belief in exceeding expectations — our endless ambition.”

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Harry is picking up an award at the ESPY Awards (Image: Getty)

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Some royal experts believe Harry should have turned down the award after criticism of his selection.

Hilary Fordwich, a British royals expert, said to Fox News: “His refusal to turn down the Pat Tillman Award, despite suffering a furious backlash with the petition urging ESPN to reconsider its decision…tangibly shows how his popularity has plummeted.

“The latest lash out at him is Admiral Lord Alan West, Former Royal Navy Chief and Labour peer, saying that ‘he ought to think very hard and long’ about accepting this particular award as it ‘doesn’t travel well with people in the military.’”