Never before seen photographs of a young Prince William and Princess Diana, visiting a homeless shelter, have been shared by Kensington Palace ahead of the future King’s appearance in a groundbreaking new documentary.
The images show him as a boy of ten, playing chess with a resident at The Passage in June 1993 and six months later, aged 11, on another visit to the shelter with his mother.
He recalls those visits and discusses Diana’s continued influence on his work and the way he is raising his children in Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, which airs this week on ITV and ITVX.
The future King says he discusses the issue with Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis, just as Diana did with him.
“When I was very small, my mother started talking about homelessness, much like I do now, with my children on the school run. We saw people on the streets.
“You know when you’re that small, you’re just curious, and you’re kind of trying to work out what’s going on. You just ask the question like, why are they sitting there? And my mother would talk to us a bit about why they were there, and it definitely had a really big impact.”
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Reflecting on his efforts to help, he says: “I’ve slowly tried to work out, what can I bring to the role and the platform that I have? What do I feel works? What do I feel people want to see from me? And I have taken some inspiration and guidance from what my mother did, particularly with homelessness, and that’s grown more over the last few years.”
© The PassageThe heir to the throne was just 15 when he lost his mother in a Paris car crash in 1997. Sifting through the photographs from his childhood visits, he recalls: “My mother took me to The Passage. She took Harry and I both there. I must have been about 11, I think, at the time, maybe 10. I’d never been to anything like that before, and I was a bit anxious as to what to expect.
“My mother went about her usual part of making everyone feel relaxed and having a laugh and joking with everyone… I remember having some good conversations and playing chess and chatting.”
He says the visits made him realise: “There are other people out there who don’t have the same life as you do… She [Diana] made sure that when we grew up, that life outside Palace walls thing was real, you know, not just a statement. It was an actual fact. And it’s funny how times come around.”
© The PassageIn June 2023, William launched Homewards, a five-year plan to prove that it’s possible to end homelessness by making it rare, brief and unrepeated.
The scheme has brought together multiple organisations in six areas across the UK: Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Lambeth, Newport, Northern Ireland and Sheffield.
Asked what his mother would think of his ambitious scheme, he laughs: “She would have thought I was probably mad to start off with… My mother introduced me to homelessness a long time ago, and it was something that had a deep resonation with me, not just because of the moments I had, but because of the connection I felt.
“And I know that sounds weird, but when you feel human connection with somebody who’s been in deep trouble, I challenge anyone not to feel like a desire to help. And there has to be a better way than just accepting that homelessness is there and we just live with it. I don’t believe that, and I won’t accept that.
“And so what I want to see, and I think she would want to see, is action movement and change.”
© Andrew Parsons / Kensington PalaceWilliam opens up in the two-part documentary, which sees him visiting organisations working with his Homewards campaign across the UK and welcoming people with lived experience to Windsor Castle.
They include Fara Williams, England’s most capped footballer and former Chelsea player, who was homeless for seven years at the start of her career and TV presenter Gail Porter, who has also experienced homelessness.
“All of us who’ve been involved in this project feel we’re seeing Prince William as never before, the real man,” says Jo Clinton-Davis, ITV’s Controller of Factual. “This is clearly a real issue for him, his commitment is palpable.”
© Andrew Parsons/Kensington PalaceWilliam is also seen drawing on his new status as Prince of Wales and resources, as Duke of Cornwall, to put his money where his mouth is – with a new social housing development on his land in Nansledan, Cornwall.
“I now have the ability, which I didn’t have before, to push through things and issues that I care about,” he says. “At some point you’ve got to put your hand in your pocket and say, right, we’re going to build a whole project around this and we’re actually going to do something that’s really going to make a difference to people’s lives.”
© Andrew Parsons / Kensington PalaceHomewards advocate Dr Sabrina Cohen Hatton, who lived on the streets as a teenager, tells HELLO!’s Right Royal Podcast: “There’s a lot that he [William] does that people don’t see, with visits to various places, meeting people experiencing homelessness, and it’s all done away from the cameras. He’s really genuinely committed to helping.
“And one of the things the Prince really brings to this is, because he’s experienced his own trauma, he’s really good at being able to relate to how that affects somebody, how it affects you at your core.”
More than 350,000 people across Britain are currently without a permanent home and the Prince, with his multiple homes and vast swathes of land, has faced criticism for getting involved in the issue.
But he tackles it head on, saying: “I think it’s right to question, but I think ultimately, at the end of the day, we’re pushing forward to deliver change and hope and optimism into a world that, frankly, has had very little of it for a long time…Why else would I be here if I’m not using this role properly to help people who are in need?”
Prince William: We Can End Homelessness airs 30th and 31st at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX, STV and STV Player
