Prince William has revealed he’s started talking about homelessness with his three children during the school run.
In his new two-part documentary, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, the royal, 42, revealed a behind-the-scenes look at the first year of the Homewards programme.
The project was launched last year by Prince William and The Royal Foundation’s Homewards programme, with an ambitious five-year plan to tackle homelessness in the UK.
The documentary aired its first episode on Wednesday evening on ITVX, revealing a first look at how the future king had spent his first work working with communities at a grassroots level, helping create solutions and sustainable methods for prevention.
During the second episode, the father-of-three revealed he has already begun talking to his children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine and Prince Louis, six, about issues of homelessness.
Prince William has revealed he’s started talking about homelessness with his three children during the school run
Prince George, Kate (then Duchess of Cambridge), Prince Louis, Prince William and Princess Charlotte, arrive for a settling in afternoon at Lambrook School in 2022
He was asked when he thought the right time would be to introduce his own children to homelessness.
William responded: ‘I’m probably already doing it on the school run. The first few times I thought, “do I bring this up or shall I wait to see if any of them notice?”
‘And sure enough, they did. There was sort of a silence after I said what was going on, I could see their brains going, trying to work out what that means.
‘And I do think it’s really important to start those conversations when the children are small so they understand the world around them and they’re not just living in their own little worlds.’
The prince decided to follow in the footsteps of his mother Princess Diana, who spoke to him and Harry about homelessness from a young age.
In 2005, he chose homelessness charity Centrepoint as his first patronage, saying he felt ‘very close links’ to the issue, partly because of the work his parents had done.
The prince decided to follow in the footsteps of his mother Princess Diana, who spoke to him and Harry about homelessness from a young age
The Prince has been speaking to his own children about homelessness, and revealed they’ve begun thinking about the topic
This is the hilarious moment Prince William was asked if he was ‘trying to escape’ doing chores while volunteering at a homeless charity
William attempted to dodge kitchen work by saying he was ‘going for a natter’ with visitors
In June last year, William revealed his plans to make rough sleeping, sofa surfing and temporary accommodation a thing of the past in his ambitious five-year initiative programme called Homewards, founded by the prince and the Royal Foundation.
Cameras started rolling in June last year when the Prince launched Homewards, focusing on six flagship locations: Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole; Lambeth; Newport; Northern Ireland and Sheffield.
During the first episode, which aired last night, the father-of-three was seen helping out at a Christmas dinner at The Passage, a homeless charity in London – where he was once taken by Princess Diana as a child and where he volunteered.
The scene was filmed last year during the festive period, when the prince visited the London charity to help prepare the Christmas meal.
His down-to-earth relationship with those at the charity was made clear, as the prince cheekily attempted to dodge hard work in the kitchen by ‘going for a natter’ with visitors instead after sneaking a glimpse at his watch.
‘You’ve got enough hands in here anyway, don’t you?’ he asked. ‘I might go over there and have a natter’.
The documentary reunites the brothers on screen, if only via an old photo of both boys visiting the shelter in 1993
Prince William and Diana, Princess of Wales, during a visit to The Passage in London
But William, who had donned an apron for the occasion, was clearly not to be granted any sort of royal treatment and his excuses were seen right through.
He was jokingly told: ‘Oh you’re trying to escape the work, I’m watching you!’
The Prince of Wales then sent his fellow volunteers into fits of laughter, saying he would hand out the drinks or the ketchup.
William first visited The Passage in 1993 with his late mother, Diana, and younger brother Harry, when he was just 11-years-old, which is the same age as his eldest son, George. He is now the patron of the charity, for an issue very close to his heart.
During the documentary William, recalled his first visit with his mother, saying he felt ‘anxious’ but was put at ease by his mother’s own kindness.
He said: ‘My mother went about her usual, making everyone feel relaxed, having a laugh and joking with everyone. I remember at the time kind of thinking, ‘Well, if everyone doesn’t have a home, they’re all going to be really sad.’ But it was incredible how happy an environment it was.’
The prince has credited his mother for inspiring him to launch his initiative to eradicate homelessness.
His interest in issues of homeless have been with him since he was a child. In 2009, the future king even spent a night sleeping under a bridge in London in minus four degree temperatures.
The two-part series will also be available on Disney+ from Friday 1 November.
This streaming decision is a notable departure from that of the Prince of Wales’ brother Prince Harry, who signed a five-year, £80million deal with Netflix in 2020.
Last year, the Prince of Wales pledged his commitment to ending homelessness in the UK, an ambitious project starting with six different areas in the country country facing large numbers of homelessness.
He pledged £3 million to fund helping resolve the issues in six flagship spots, with the hope that other parts of the UK will follow by example.
As a member of the Royal Family, William acknowledges his critics may question why someone from such a privileged background believes they can solve such a widespread issue.
During the first episode last night, the prince was asked whether he thought he might be the right person for the job to which he said: ‘I think everyone having a right to a safe home benefits us all.
The Prince of Wales posed for photos with guests at The Passage – including one who was wearing a very festive jumper
Prince of hugs! As William served up pudding, one guest at the dinner couldn’t resist a hug with the royal
Prince William greeted guests at the lunch with warmth as he spent the day with them
‘I come with no other agenda than desperately trying to help people who are in need and I see that as part of my role, why else would I be here if I am not using this role properly to influence and help people while I can.’
‘And I like a big challenge, I do like that, but I can’t do it on my own,’ he concluded.
In Thursdays episode, when he was asked what he would say to critics, he tactfully responded: ‘I think if i answered every critic i’d be hear all day’
‘Criticism drives you forward’ he said.
Figures suggest more than 300,000 people – nearly half of whom are children – are homeless, whether living on the streets, in cars, or hostels and other types of temporary accommodation.
Since William’s first visit to The Passage over two decades ago, he has been involved with several organisations working in the field ever since, including Centrepoint and The Big Issue.
Now the 42-year-old heir to the throne hoped to bring together coalitions of individuals, organisations and businesses to work together based on specific local needs.
Launching the ambitious plan last June, he said: ‘In a modern and progressive society, everyone should have a safe and secure home, be treated with dignity and given the support they need.
‘Through Homewards, I want to make this a reality and over the next five years, give people across the UK hope that homelessness can be prevented when we collaborate.
‘It’s a big task, but I firmly believe that by working together it is possible to make homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated.’