Prince Harry’s behaviour at the 21st annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards suggests he was not exactly “proud” to be seen there, a royal commentator has claimed.

The Duke of Sussex appeared at the ceremony on January 19 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, which was hosted by John Travolta and also saw Jeff Bezos in the crowd as he watched his fiancée Lauren Sanchez receive an award.

However the rest of the guests were slammed as being rather more “D-List”, with Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, Miss Teen California Taliya Peiris and artist Mimi Stuart included on the guest list.

Even Meghan Markle was unable to make it to the ceremony as according to the Sussexes one of the couple’s children was not well, forcing her to stay home.

Royal author Angela Levin criticised Harry’s appearance at the event, as she said: “It’s a very sad situation. Harry was once loved around the world and often named as the favourite royal, but now he’s very near the bottom.

“He is lost, he doesn’t know what he wants and it was a very desperate move to accept a ridiculous gong like this. Harry looks foolish and it was a silly thing to do.

“He clearly wasn’t proud of himself because he crept in and out via the back door. There was no, ‘Here I am, amazing flying man Harry’. If you were happy you’d make a big entrance and exit. He hasn’t done that.”

At the ceremony Harry rubbed shoulders with a surprising royal guest, Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe, who claims to be a distant cousin of the British Royal Family.

But the head of the ‘family’ has warned Harry to stay away from the controversial Mario-Max, who was once dubbed the “King of Trash TV” and was a contestant on German Big Brother.

Prince Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe told the Mail On Sunday: “It’s very painful for me, this guy has been harvesting our name for his personal gain.”

He tried to alert Harry that he “cannot stoop lower” than appearing beside the TV shopping channel host in public, adding: “I would advise him to stay away from this man.”

Ms Levin is also not a fan of Mario-Max, as she added: “Prince Mario-Max just wants fame and is taking advantage of Harry. Is Harry too naive to realise he’s being seen with this impostor and taken for a ride?”

The royal expert gave her take on Harry as a Living Legend of Aviation, explaining how unfeasible it was that he was lauded the same way as astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were in the past.

She said: “It’s quite obvious to anyone that his career of flying, albeit in an Apache, doesn’t mean he can compare himself to people who have walked on the moon.

“It is unlikely he would have been given this award if it was not for the fact that he is a prince.”