Prince William, who has long been dedicated to addressing homelessness, launched a five-year project called ‘Homewards’ in June 2023. This ambitious project aims to make homelessness ‘rare, brief, and non-recurring.’ A recent documentary titled ‘Prince William: We Can End Homelessness,’ which aired on ITV in late October, provided an intimate look at the project’s first year. The documentary delved into the poignant memories of the late Princess Diana, William’s mother, and her profound influence on his dedication to this cause.
William shared how Diana, his mother, played a pivotal role in shaping his understanding of the world beyond the palace walls: “When we grew up, she made sure we understood it not just as something we heard about, but as something real.” He recalled, “From a young age, I was always hearing about homelessness from my mother. It’s something I now talk about with my own children when I take them to school.”
The Prince, who has three children with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge – George, Charlotte, and Louis – continued: “When you see people sleeping rough, you have a strong sense of curiosity as a child, trying to understand what was going on. When I asked ‘Why are they sitting there?’, she’d give me a little bit of an explanation. And that was a huge shock.”
As William transitioned into his royal duties, he began to “think about how to use the role and platform I have.” He explained how his mother’s actions provided guidance, “I took inspiration and direction from my mother’s work, particularly on homelessness. Over the last few years, it’s become something that’s grown stronger and stronger.”
One of the defining moments for William was a childhood visit to The Passage, a homeless support organization, with his brother, Prince Harry, accompanied by their mother. He remembers, “I remember having fun and playing chess. It was the first time I understood that people lived differently than me.” Diana’s presence, he recalled, was as always, “relaxing, she made everyone laugh. There wasn’t any sense of misery.” The encounter left a profound impression on young William, “It was quite a shock to hear someone say ‘I slept rough last night.'”
Today, William is a patron of The Passage and other organizations like Centrepoint, both of which were supported by Diana. “It is an ambitious endeavor and a large problem. It will require a lot of effort. But I truly believe that the 21st century shouldn’t be the century of homelessness. There will come a point where we have to get off our backside and do something that changes people’s lives.”
