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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Rebecca Speare-Cole

Former rugby league player Rob Burrow to receive honour at Windsor Castle

PA Wire

Former rugby league player Rob Burrow will be among a host of high-achievers to receive royal honours at Windsor Castle.

Burrow, 39, who spent 16 years playing for the Leeds Rhinos and was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2019, was made an MBE in the 2021 New Year Honours list.

On Tuesday, he will be honoured for his services to both the rugby league and the Motor Neurone Disease community.

British pop star Engelbert Humperdinck will also be honoured at the investiture service at Windsor Castle.

Humperdinck, who rose to prominence in the late 1960s with chart-topping hits like Release Me and The Last Waltz, was made MBE in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Others collecting awards include actor Sir Jonathan Pryce and keyboardist Rick Wakeman.

During his career, the 74-year-old Welsh actor has won two Tony Awards and two Olivier Awards, and was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Pope Francis in The Two Popes.

He has also supported several charities, including Amnesty International, Epilepsy Action and Neurofibromatosis Association.

He was knighted in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his services to drama and charity.

Meanwhile, Wakeman, best known as the keyboardist in progressive rock band Yes, was awarded CBE on the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili, a physicist, author and broadcast, was also made CBE on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to science and public engagement in Stem – and will be honoured in Windsor.

He will be joined by composer and pianist Huw Watkins, who was awarded an MBE, and Dame Catherine Bingham, chair of the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce, who was awarded a damehood – both on the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

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