Prince of Wales: I talk to my children about homelessness – like my mother Diana did

London: Prince William has revealed his work to tackle homelessness was inspired by a visit to a shelter with his mother Diana when he was a child.

The heir to the throne, 42, said he had taken “inspiration and guidance” from Diana, Princess of Wales, speaking in a two-part documentary charting the first year of his drive to tackle the issue.

Prince William at a meeting before the launch of the Homewards project to end homelessness.

“When I was very small my mother started talking about homelessness, much like I do now with my children on the school run,” William explained. “It’s something that had a deep resonation with me.”

The ITV series, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, offers a rare insight behind the scenes of his work on Homewards, a royal foundation.

William first visited a homeless shelter in December 1993, aged 11, when the late Princess of Wales took him and Prince Harry to The Passage, a charity supporting people who are newly homeless.

“She made sure [we knew] that the life outside palace walls thing was real, you know, not just a statement,” he said, adding that her approach has inspired him to discuss the issue with his own three children.

It is hoped the two-part series will raise the profile of the initiative, generating further interest and involvement in the cause.

Discussing the pivotal childhood memories in the documentary, he said: “She took Harry and I both there. I must have been about 11, I think probably... Maybe 10. I’d never been to anything like that before.

“I remember at the time kind-of thinking, well if everyone’s not got a home, they’re all going to be really sad. But it was incredible how happy an environment it was.”

He recalled conversations he had while playing chess at the shelter when it dawned on him: “There are other people out there who don’t have the same life as you do.”

Unseen pictures of Diana

Kensington Palace has unveiled previously unseen pictures of Diana with her eldest son during their two visits to the Passage in 1993, one in June and the other before Christmas.

Prince William and his mother, the late Princess Diana, visiting The Passage in 1993. 

In one picture, the prince can be seen wearing a red polo shirt while playing chess and in another, he and his mother are in the shelter’s kitchen.

The documentary shows William undertaking Homewards engagements across the country and meeting homeless people as well as hearing the individual stories about what led them to their situations.

Diana at Centrepoint Cold Weather Project in London in 1997. She was patron of the project that provides food, beds and respite for homeless young people.Credit: PA

Addressing accusations of hypocrisy surrounding his own privilege, William said: “Why else would I be here if I’m not using this role properly to help people who are in need?”

Lainey, 21, who currently resides in a hostel, remarked about the prince: “Even though he’s rich and people see him as some poshy, he asked not-too intrusive questions, he asked enough to find out what needed to be said.

“How I felt and things like that. I didn’t feel judged or anything like that. I felt like he was one of my mates.”

‘I feel compelled to act’

Homewards, launched last June, aims to put six pilot locations – Bournemouth, Newport, Aberdeen, Northern Ireland, Sheffield and Lambeth – on a path towards eradicating homelessness by 2028.

William admitted in the documentary that he feels personal guilt about the homelessness crisis in Britain.

“I’ve spent enough time learning and listening to what people have been through that I feel almost guilty every time I leave, that I’m not doing more to help, and I feel compelled to act because I don’t want to just talk about it.”

He said he also doesn’t “want to just listen” but wants to make people’s lives better, adding: “I feel with my position and my platform, I should be delivering change.”

“The ultimate ambition is to prove that we can prevent homelessness in these regions so then others will come along and go well if they can do it, why can’t we?”

He says he’s “slowly tried to work out” what he can bring to the role of heir to the throne.

“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,” he said.

The Telegraph, London