Marcus Rashford: Manchester United striker to give MBE to mum

  • Published
Media caption,

Marcus Rashford on meeting Prince William: "We were speaking about football"

Footballer Marcus Rashford has dedicated his MBE to his mother and vowed to continue his campaigning to help vulnerable children.

The Manchester United and England striker was honoured by the Duke of Cambridge at Windsor Castle earlier.

The 24-year-old has been recognised for his drive to ensure no child in need went hungry during the pandemic.

He said he would give his MBE to his mum Melanie Maynard, who has previously spoken about her family's struggles.

Ms Maynard, who raised Rashford and his four siblings while working full-time on minimum wage, has received recognition for her own work around food poverty, which saw a foodbank warehouse named in her honour.

Image source, PA Media
Image caption,

Rashford was honoured by the prince in front of his mother Melanie

Speaking after the ceremony, the striker said he would be giving his MBE for services to vulnerable children to his mother and would continue to campaign to "give children the things I didn't have when I was kid".

"If I did have, I would have been much better off and had many more options in my life," he said.

"For me, it is a punishment for them not to be getting things like meals or supplies of books."

He said if everyone could "come together" and make "small changes", things could improve for young people.

"I see a generation that is coming after me as a very special generation," he added.

"They just need a bit of guidance and pointing in the right direction and what I am doing is giving them that."

Image source, Andrew Matthews / PA WIRE
Image caption,

Rashford's mother Melanie has also received recognition for her work around food poverty

Image source, Andrew Matthews / PA Wire
Image caption,

The Manchester United and England striker was named in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in October 2020

In March 2020, Rashford took to social media to highlight his fears about the impact that shutting schools would have on disadvantaged children.

His subsequent campaigning to ensure no vulnerable child went hungry in the UK resulted in the government changing policy over its free school meals vouchers during lockdown.

Rashford's honour was part of the first face-to-face ceremony Prince William has hosted since the start of the pandemic.

In a tweet, the duke said he was "pleased to be back doing investitures in person" at the castle.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Rashford has received a number of accolades for his campaigning and became the youngest recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester in October.

He was also honoured with a special award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony in December 2020, after the judging panel unanimously agreed his work off the pitch should be commended.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, external, Twitter, external and Instagram, external? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk