Prince William Heads Out for His First Public Duty of 2024, Surprising Two Remarkable Friends

The Prince of Wales went to Leeds to pay tribute to Kevin Sinfield and Rob Burrow for their work supporting Motor Neurone Disease

Prince William is out for the first duty of the year.

The Prince of Wales, 41, went to Headlingley Stadium in Leeds on Thursday to pay tribute to two great friends and congratulate them on how they've raised awareness for a debilitating disease.

Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield have paired up to help raise millions for research and work to combat Motor Neurone Disease after Burrow was diagnosed with MND in December 2019, just two years after retiring from playing for Leeds Rhinos rugby league team. The pair, who played alongside each other from 2001 to 2015, were both awarded CBEs in the New Year’s Honours list for their charity work — and Prince William surprised the men with their honors during the visit.

Since Burrow’s diagnosis, he has inspired a fundraising drive to bring in an astonishing $19 million towards research into the illness. Some $11 million was raised by his friend and former teammate, Sinfield, who has done everything from running seven marathons in seven days and other endurance challenges. Last May, he led the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon.

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Prince William talked with them about their playing days at Leeds Rhinos and spoke to them and their families about their efforts over the past four years to champion and support those impacted by MND across the U.K. and Ireland.

As well as supporting a collection of charities, the men have also used the money to build the Rob Burrow Centre for MND. It aims to meet all the needs of an MND patient and their families in one building.

Sharing photos from the outing on social media, Prince William's team wrote, "A pleasure to award Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield with their CBEs at Headingley today. Thank you both for your incredible efforts in raising awareness and funds for Motor Neurone Disease. Both true heroes of the #MND community and the Rugby Football League."

Prince William also joked with Burrow, who recently had the Prince of Wales' cousin Zara and her husband Mike Tindall (a fellow former rugby player) on his podcast, where Mike revealed William's nickname of "One-Pint Willy" because "he's not the best of drinkers."

According to the Mirror, William told Burrow on Thursday, "It was you who got the nicknames out of him. He apologized to me about that. When I saw him, I said, 'Mike, when you're not going to mention your nicknames doesn't mean you mention mine, it's not fair.' I'm sure it's quite fun with Mike."

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It was Prince William’s first appearance in public since he and his wife, Kate Middleton, who turned 42 on Tuesday, and their children walked to Christmas Day church services with other members of the royal family.

Earlier this week, Prince William paid tribute to another sports star, a Welsh rugby player JPR Williams who died at age 74.

"There was no one quite like him on the rugby field. A true @WelshRugbyUnion great, my thoughts are with JPR Williams’ family and friends," Prince William wrote in English and Welsh on X on Tuesday. The royal signed the message as "W," using his first initial to signify that the note came from him directly.

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