Prince and Princess of Wales make surprise appearance in support of Sir Kevin Sinfield's ultramarathon challenge in memory of Rob Burrow.

 

Prince and Princess of Wales make surprise appearance in support of Sir Kevin Sinfield's ultramarathon challenge in memory of Rob Burrow.

Prince William and Kate surprised Sir Kevin Sinfield today as he completed his third ultramarathon in three days to raise money for motor neurone disease.

The former Leeds Rhino player was greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales as he crossed the finish line at DIY Kitchens Stadium in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

The couple then spoke with Sir Kevin about the decision to run seven ultramarathons in seven days for his 7 in 7: The Grand Finale challenge and the positive impact the 46-year-old ex-rugby star has had fundraising for people living with MND and their families.

William and Kate made the short trip to Wakefield from Headingley Rugby Stadium, home of the Rhinos, where they had been learning about the club's community work.

Inspired by former Rhinos team-mate Rob Burrow, who died in 2024 aged 41 after living with MND for four-and-a-half years, Sir Kevin and his team have raised more than £11million for the MND community since his first annual challenge in 2020.

Six charities are set to benefit once again from this year's fundraising – the MND Association, Leeds Hospitals Charity, My Name5 Doddie Foundation, Darby Rimmer Foundation, MND Scotland and the Irish MND Association.

In emotional scenes in Wakefield, the Prince and Princess watched as Sir Kevin welled up speaking to supporters, and told him he was 'so inspiring'.

'Well done you,' the Princess told him, at the end of his third of seven ultramarathons in memory of his friend. 'It's been very special to watch,' said the Prince.

Burrow's three children Macy, Maya and Jackson were there to watch along with his mother Irene, greeted by Sir Kevin with a hug.

Seven-year-old Jackson scored a try in a charity rugby match yesterday, with Sir Kevin pointing at him and shouting 'I saw your try!' and a smiling Prince William quizzing him on just how good he was at rugby.

The Prince claimed he was 'dreading' getting a call from Sir Kevin asking him to join the ultramarathon effort, laughing 'I can't hear you!' when he joked about it.

'I can't do lycra,' said William, adding: 'That's my line.'

As Sir Kevin took the microphone to thank his team, MND charity supporters and fans at the DIY Kitchens Stadium, he briefly became tearful before delivering a three-minute speech without notes.

He told the Prince and Princess: 'To have you here today is incredible and brings real credibility and awareness to the MND community.'

Hearing how Sir Kevin had been dreaming of an ice bath throughout today's run, Prince William told him afterwards: 'Make sure you hold together for another few days.' We're all thinking of Rob all the time.'

He was asked by the Princess, 'How did you find today?', and replied: 'It's been the hardest day so far.'

William said: 'It's really impressive.'

After Sir Kevin, hobbling slightly, spent time with his team and Wakefield fans, Prince William patted him on the shoulder and told him: 'Don't hang around for us, go and relax, go and sit down, go and have a shower - well done, honestly, you're amazing.'

As the ultra marathon runner appeared to ask William to join him, the prince joked: 'I can't hear you, Kev, there's something in my ear.'

William added that he 'might see you next week', when Sir Kevin is due to have his investiture at Windsor Castle.

Each ultra marathon is split into 7km (four miles) (4.3-mile) blocks, which must be completed within the hour before starting the next.

There is also an 'extra mile' event every day, when Sir Kevin joins members of the MND community in completing four laps of a running track.

The home grounds of the 12 English Betfred Super League clubs will be visited, before finishing on the pitch at Old Trafford ahead of the Super League Grand Final, where his son Jack will play for Wakefield against Warrington.

Sir Kevin set off on Sunday morning from Hull KR's Craven Park before heading across the city to the MKM Stadium, the home of Hull FC, and out to Market Weighton, with the first day's event finishing in Shiptonthorpe.

Yesterday's leg continued to the LNER Community Stadium, the home of the York Knights, as well as York Minster and York racecourse, with the finish at Bishopthorpe Palace, the official residence of the Archbishop of York.

Today saw the team set off for West Yorkshire, travelling near Burrow's home in Pontefract on the way to Castleford Tigers and finishing at the DIY Kitchens Stadium, the home of Wakefield Trinity.

Sir Kevin will be off to Headingley tomorrow, before running to the Bradford Bulls' home at Bartercard Odsal and finishing at the Accu Stadium in Huddersfield.

Thursday sees the team cross the Pennines, travelling through Sir Kevin's home town of Oldham and finishing at the Peninsula Stadium, home of Salford City FC.

The penultimate day on Friday will take the team to St Helens via Leigh Leopards and Wigan Warriors.

The journey concludes on Saturday, setting off from the Brewdog Stadium in St Helens, calling at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, home of Warrington Wolves, then heading to Old Trafford.

William and Kate are known to admire Sir Kevin – with the prince surprising him and Burrow in 2024 by presenting them with their CBEs during a meeting at Headingley.

William later opened the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease, where he met Burrow's wife and children, alongside Sir Kevin, to hear about how the facility would help those with MND.

Yesterday, Princess Anne also met Sir Kevin as she joined hundreds of supporters at the University of York's sport centre and joked that she could accompany his running team on a horse.

As the pair chatted, Sir Kevin agreed with the royal visitor that the term 'fun run' was a 'contradiction'. Anne said: 'I can run but I don't do it for fun. I'm past that stage.'

Sir Kevin said: 'Well, you're welcome to join at any point,' to which the Princess Royal – who is patron of the Motor Neurone Disease Association – replied: 'I'll stick with horses.'

Speaking to the pupils earlier on Tuesday, William asked how well they knew 'local heroes' Burrow and Sir Kevin, saying: 'You know Kevin's doing his big run today as well? We're going to surprise him in a bit.'

Catherine said: 'He's super fit. He's doing seven ultra marathons in seven days, that's a lot of running.'

William said: 'If he can walk by the end of it, it's going to be amazing. His poor knees.'

The Waleses were shown the players' tunnel which has a photo of the 'golden generation' and a quote from Burrow, describing them as a 'special band of brothers'.

The prince and princess then met two players from the Leeds Rhinos wheelchair team and at the end of the visit, they were given a gift bag for their children, including a ball and toy rhinos.

The Waleses were also pleasantly surprised to hear the children they met did not have social media.

Catherine said: 'That's so good to hear - that's because you love your sport, you've got other things to be doing.'

She later turned to William, who looked surprised and then said: 'These guys don't have social media because they really love their sport.'

Tags: Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince Louis, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Meghan, Lilibet

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