'You should be so proud', William tells Rob Burrow's family

The Prince of Wales told the children of the late rugby league legend Rob Burrow they should be "so proud of your father because he really was an incredibly brave and very special man", as he opened a new motor neurone disease (MND) centre.

- by Dave Higgens PA Reporter @LeedsNews

William met Rob's three children - Macy, Maya and Jackson - his wife Lindsey, and his fundraising teammate Kevin Sinfield at the first purpose-built centre dedicated entirely to MND care, research and support, fulfilling a promise he made to Rob before his death last year.

The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) was the dream of the Leeds Rhinos star and his consultant Dr Agam Jung, who also talked to William at the facility in Leeds which provides a new “one-stop-shop” for patients and their families.

William made Burrow a CBE at the Rhinos’ Headingley Stadium in January 2024, along with Sinfield, and the father-of-three asked the Prince of Wales then if he would open the centre when it was built.

Rob died five months later, at the age of 41, following a four-and-a-half-year battle with MND during which he devoted himself to raising awareness and money for treatment and research.

William arrived at the centre, which is in the grounds of Seacroft Hospital in Leeds, on Thursday morning, thanking everyone for waiting outside in the freezing weather.

He joked that he had had a late night after attending the Royal Variety Performance in London on Wednesday evening with the Princess of Wales.