The Prince of Wales sent a personal message to Rob Burrow’s family after his death, which the former rugby league player’s wife has described as “heartwarming and sincere” and “something that we will treasure as a family forever”.
Burrow was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) barely two years after ending his stellar playing career, but refused to give up the fight and threw himself into a campaign to raise awareness of the condition and help raise funds to find a cure.
He died earlier this month at the age of 41 after a four-and-a-half-year battle with the degenerative disease, and is survived by his wife Lindsey and children Macy, Maya and Jackson.
In an interview with BBC Breakfast, Mrs Burrow said it was “really overwhelming” to see the support and tributes pour in after her husband’s death, but highlighted a personal message from William as one that “really sticks out”.
She told the programme: “One that really sticks out, the one that is so special to me, was a message, a personal message, as a parent, from his royal highness the Prince of Wales.
“That was really heartwarming, really sincere, and that’s something that we will treasure as a family forever.”
William met Burrow, and his former teammate Kevin Sinfield, at Headingley, Leeds, in January, where the prince surprised them by making them CBEs for services to MND awareness.
Recalling that day, Mrs Burrow described William as “a really genuine, sincere future king”.
“That’s again a day that we’ll remember and treasure forever and to get that message from Prince William has given us a lot of comfort and will always have a special place in my heart,” she told BBC Breakfast.
At the time, Sinfield had raised more than £15 million since his friend was diagnosed with MND.
William told Burrow at Headingley: “The most amount of thank yous and congratulations for all the inspirational work you’ve done Rob, you’ve been amazing and everyone’s so proud of you.
“We’ve been following your case and all the money you’ve been raising, and you’re changing people’s lives with MND.”
After being described by the prince as an inspiration to the MND community, Burrow said: “I can honestly say that I never set out to be an inspiration, I just wanted to try and help other people in a similar situation to me.
“I’m just trying to live my best life with the cards that I’ve been dealt.”
He added: “I wouldn’t be here without the love and support of my wife Lindsey. She is stronger than any rugby player I ever played against.”
Mrs Burrow also spoke about her husband’s enduring humour and positivity when asked by BBC Breakfast about his final message.
In it, he said: “I hope one day we find a cure and live in a world free of MND. By the time that you watch this I will no longer be here.
“Rob Burrow over and out.”
Mrs Burrow said: “That was just Rob. He was positive, he was humorous, he was funny and that was his just way of leaving a stamp on the world.”
She added that the message “teaches us all to live in the moment, to be brave” and said Burrow “lived by every word”.
Mrs Burrow became emotional when speaking about the messages her husband left their children on his eye-gaze machine, that she has yet to listen to.
“I know Rob has left messages on there for the children,” she told BBC Breakfast.
“At the minute it’s too raw to do that, to go and look through machines, but there are birthday messages on there, there are messages for the children in the future.”
When I spoke to Rob and he said he wouldn't change his life, you know, there was nothing that he would change, and that's really comforting to know that he had an incredible life and achieved so much— Lindsey Burrow
She said her husband will “give me the strength” to eventually listen to and share those “important” messages.
The programme heard that Burrow and his wife wanted to use the time they had, from when he was diagnosed with MND, to make memories for their children.
Mrs Burrow said they did that, adding: “Rob was always such a family man, as I say in every sense of the word, he idolised his children and it was really important to us that we made those happy memories and we spent that time together.
“But Rob was such a devoted dad that he would come home from training early just to be with the children and that was just Rob.
“And that’s the hard part for me, that’s what MND has taken away, it’s robbed the children of a dad and that’s really hard.”
She denied getting angry about that, and said what happened to Burrow was down to “bad luck”.
She told the programme: “We can’t change that, what’s happened, and when I spoke to Rob and he said he wouldn’t change his life, you know, there was nothing that he would change, and that’s really comforting to know that he had an incredible life and achieved so much.”
She said she was proud of her husband who had given “so many people hope” and “made the world a better place to be”.
