PRINCE Harry posed for a humiliating selfie with a German "prince" dubbed the "King of Trash TV".
The Duke of Sussex accepted the Living Legend of Aviation award at a ceremony hosted by John Travolta in Beverly Hills, California, on Friday.
At the ceremony, Harry was seen beaming in a selfie alongside Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe at the Beverly Hills Hilton.
But it has been revealed that the Prince's right to use that title is hotly contested, according to The Mail On Sunday.
Mario-Max, 46, has been accused of "harvesting the family name" with the Duke of Sussex warned to stay away from him.
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The head of the family, Prince Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe, told The Mail on Sunday last night: "It's very painful for me, this guy has been harvesting our name for his personal gain.
"Prince Harry cannot stoop lower than appearing with him. I would advise him to stay away from this man."
Mario-Max – who claims he has the right to use the royal title after he was adopted by a member of the Schaumburg-Lippe family - has been dubbed "the King of Trash TV" in the German Press.
He gained his reputation after appearing on the local version of Big Brother, and hawking products on shopping channels including a so-called "wealth elixir".
Harry and Meghan's biographer Phil Dampier said about the picture: "If Harry wants to be taken seriously he should not be posing up with people like this 'German Prince' who has been on their equivalent of Celebrity Big Brother and been dubbed the king of Trash TV on shopping channels.
"It's very sad to see someone who was once a real life royal with so much to offer reduced to this sort of tacky selfie."
Mario-Max also once appeared in a saucy internet series called Travel Boobs.
The series synopsis reads: "Three female friends look to run away from their problems but end up in a never ending road trip from hell."
He only appeared on one episode of the 2016 web series which largely flopped with an average rating of 4 out of 10, according to IMDb.
Meanwhile, in the SBS6 program 'Coming to Holland: Prince Seeks Woman', he pretended that he belonged to the nobility and was a real German prince, which in reality was not the case.
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After the posting the selfie with Prince Harry on Instagram, Mario-Max attracted a number of comments.
One wrote: "So cringe. Two irrelevant middle-aged men without serious pursuit using their titles to grift in superficial Hollywood."
Another commented: "I'm embarrassed for both of you. This must be a joke."
Mario-Max profiles himself on his family's website as 'His Highness, Seine Hoheit Dr. Prince Mario-Max Prinz zu Schaumburg-Lippe'.
On his website, Mario-Max boasts of connections stretching back to William of Orange, which would make him a very, very distant cousin of the British Royals.
At the ceremony, Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe said that "Prince Harry is a global icon no matter what".
He added: "Getting an award of this level is wonderful and that's a good match."
It comes as Harry made no reference to dad King Charles or Kate Middleton's health shock in his aviation hall of fame speech.
It is the first time Harry has been seen in public since Kate Middleton's abdominal surgery and King Charles' enlarged prostate diagnosis.
Kate is expected to stay at the private London Clinic for up to 14 days before going home to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.
And yesterday morning, King Charles was seen for the first time since the Palace revealed he faces prostate treatment in just a few days.
But the Duke of Sussex made no mention of his family's recent hospital visits.
Instead, Harry made a joke about John Travolta, who famously danced with his mum Diana, at The White House in 1985.
"I was one years old when you danced with my mum, as you told everybody here and continue to dine out on that probably every single night. But look at us now," Harry said of the iconic moment.
"If we're not going to dance together, we'll fly together."
He went on to thank the "living legends of aviation for this incredible honour" adding that he is "proud to be recognised among such a dynamic and inspiring group of individuals".
But Harry's award sparked fury among military experts who believe the Duke of Sussex doesn't deserve it.
Retired military officer Colonel Richard Kemp said Prince Harry falls short in military accomplishments to be entitled to the award, which he slammed as an exercise in "celebrities massaging each other’s egos."
And Colonel Kemp claimed that the Duke was only "number two" in his helicopter in Afghanistan.
