rince William has given his reaction to Mark Tindall’s hilarious nickname for him, which the rugby player revealed on a podcast last month.
The reaction came as the Prince of Wales made his first public appearance since the Christmas break, visiting Headingley Stadium in Leeds on Thursday.
Confessing the nickname on Rob Burrow’s podcast in December, Mark Tindall – married to William’s cousin Zara – revealed that the Prince had earned the nickname “One Pint Willy because he’s not the best of drinkers.”
With a laugh, he joked: “It’s out there now, sorry sir.”
His wife, Zara, added: “You’re in so much trouble!”
Prince William’s response to the moniker came as he greeted Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield, giving the pair their CBEs.
As Burrow welcomed him to the Leeds Rhinos’ stadium, the Prince said: “It was you who got the nicknames out of him – he apologised to me about that.”
He continued: “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.”
Burrow and Sinfield were awarded their CBEs in recognition of their incredible charity work in support of motor neurone disease (MND) research, a cause for which they’ve inspired nearly £15m since Burrow received an MND diagnosis in 2019.
£8.5m of that alone came from Sinfield’s efforts.
Most famously, Sinfield carried his childhood friend Burrow across the finish line of the 2023 Rob Burrows Leeds Marathon – just one of the many endurance challenges that Sinfield has undertaken to raise money and awareness for MND.
As he handed the pair the CBEs, the Prince of Wales said: “I have brought a special couple of things up to give you today. I did check with Kevin to make sure that you didn’t want to come to London to receive these. But I have brought your CBEs up here today and I thought I might give them to you, if that’s ok, in your home, Leeds, surrounded by your family and friends. I thought today was a good day to present your CBEs.
Speaking to Burrows, he said: “Thank you and congratulations for all the inspirational work you have done, Rob. You’ve been amazing, you really have. Everyone is proud of you and has been following your case and the money you have been raising. You have changed so many people’s lives with MND. We are all so proud of you.”
As he addressed Sinfield, Prince William said: “”Huge, huge congregations, you are an inspiration, you really are, thank you. You’ve raised so much. Your brotherly bond and relationship between the two of you has been so amazing to watch. An inspiration to everyone.”
In response, Burrow said: “It is an honour to accept on behalf of the whole MND community. Days like today allow us to keep the spotlight on the disease and continue to raise awareness and, hopefully, funds to fight the disease and support those who are living with MND and their families.
“It was wonderful that His Royal Highness was able to come to Headingley to see us and very much appreciated. It was lovely to talk to him and for me to meet my family.”
