Rob Burrow’s wife Lindsey has told HELLO! how the Prince of Wales intervened so the couple's children could see him present their dad with his CBE.
Macey, 12, Maya, eight and five-year-old Jackson were at Headingley Statdium in Leeds to see William hand the honours to former rugby league star Rob and his friend and ex-Leeds Rhinos teammate Kevin Sinfield, who were recognised for their tireless work to raise funds and awareness around Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
Rob was diagnosed with the incurable degenerative condition in 2019 and is confined to a wheelchair and has lost the ability to speak, while England rugby coach Kevin has completed a series of gruelling challenges for the cause, including running seven ultra-marathons in seven days.
"Originally Prince William's visit was an opportunity for him to come and meet Rob and Kevin, but then I had a phone call from the palace saying the Prince would like to know if they would like to receive their investitures at Headingly," says Lindsey, who was also there for the big day.
"And I thought, much as it would have been lovely to go to the palace, you're restricted in terms of the number of people that you can have and we wouldn't be able to take the children. So it was really special for our whole family to be involved too. The kids are so proud of their dad and the girls have been arguing over who gets to take Rob's medal to school first so they can show their friends and teachers. And doing it at Headingly, which is like a second home to Rob and Kevin, meant so much to them. Kev knew he was getting his award that day but Rob didn’t, so it was a lovely surprise.
"The girls were so excited, but Jackson was more interested in playing with my phone. But William was absolutely lovely and really engaged with the kids and asked Jackson which game he was playing. He obviously knows what five-year-old boys are like because he has one of his own. It was the first time Rob had met William and he was so genuine and sincere. He was really invested in hearing about Rob and Kevin's campaign and the story of how they grew up together when they were playing for Leeds Rhinos."