a private ceremony in New York City in 2012. They lived together from 1977 until Rickman's death. The couple had no children. Rickman was the godfather of fellow actor Tom Burke. Rickman's brother Michael is a Conservative Party district councillor in Leicestershire. Rickman was an active patron of the research foundation Saving Faces and honorary president of the International Performers' Aid Trust, a charity that works to fight poverty amongst performing artists all over the world. When discussing politics, Rickman said he "was born a card-carrying member of the Labour Party." His last recorded work prior to his death was for a short video to help Oxford University students raise funds and awareness of the refugee crisis for Save the Children and Refugee Council. According to his diaries, Rickman declined a CBE in 2008. Rickman was political until his last days. His last onscreen performance was with Helen Mirren in the drama Eye in the Sky, which he had described as "a film about the moral responsibilities governments face regarding the use of drones." In 2003, after reading published emails by Rachel Corrie, a US activist who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza, he was motivated to produce My Name Is Rachel Corrie which was well received and popular in London. Illness and death Throughout 2005, Rickman received treatment for an aggressive form of prostate cancer, culminating in a prostatectomy in January 2006. The operation coincided with the casting for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and he deliberated over whether to return to the series, but decided in favour, stating: "The argument that wins is the one that says: “See it through. It’s your story.”" In August 2015, Rickman had a minor stroke, which led to the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He revealed that he had terminal cancer to only his closest confidants. On 14 January 2016, he died in London at the age of 69. His remains were cremated on 3 February 2016 in the West London Crematorium in Kensal Green. His ashes were given to his wife, Rima Horton. His final two films, Eye in the Sky and Alice Through the Looking Glass, were dedicated to his memory, as was The Limehouse Golem, which would have been his next project. Legacy Soon after his death, his fans created a memorial underneath the "Platform 9¾" sign at London King's Cross railway station.