PRINCE William has told how his two older children were shocked into silence when he decided to explain homelessness to them on the school run.
William said George, 11, and Charlotte, nine, were lost in thought as he spoke to them when they spotted people sleeping rough in London.
The King-in-waiting who, with brother Harry, was introduced to the issue at a similar age by mum Princess Diana, reveals the poignant moment in a two-part ITV documentary later this week.
Asked when he would raise the subject, he says: “I probably am already doing it on the school run.
“The first few times I thought, ‘Do I bring this up? Or should I wait and see if any of them noticed?’. Sure enough, they did.
“They were just sort of in silence after I had said what was going on.
“I can see the brain going with this, and trying to work out what that means.
“And I do think it’s really important that you start those conversations when the children are small, so that they understand the world around them, and they’re not just living in their own little worlds.”
ITV’s Prince William: We Can End Homelessness follows the first year of his Homewards programme, a five-year initiative aiming to make homelessness “rare, brief and unrepeated” in all forms in six target areas.
He says: “The ultimate ambition is to prove homelessness is a solvable issue, and can be prevented, and it doesn’t need to be as big or as bad as it is at the moment.”
Wills says he has learned from Diana and believes she “would be proud of what I’m doing”.
She introduced her sons to homelessness by taking them to The Passage, a shelter in London’s Westminster, and getting them involved in charity Centrepoint.
William has released previously unseen photos for the documentary of visits in 1993, one of him holding Christmas presents and another posing in a kitchen.
He returns to The Passage, of which he is patron, in the programme to help again with the Christmas meals.
Making a rare reference to his brother by name, he says: “My mother took me to The Passage.
“She took Harry and I both there.
“I might have been about 11, I think at the time. Maybe ten.
“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.
My mother took me to The Passage. I’d never been to anything like that before. And I was a bit anxious as to what to expect.
Prince William
“I remember at the time 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.
“I remember playing chess and chatting, and that’s when it dawned on me that there are other people out there who don’t have the same life as you do.”
He goes on: “I don’t believe we should be living with homelessness in the 21st century.
“I don’t want to just talk about it.
“I don’t want to just listen.
“I actually want to see someone smile because their life has been made better.”
He also hits back at critics who say he is too rich for the task and the role is too political.
He says: “I come with no other agenda than desperately trying to help people who are in need.
“I see that as part of my role.
“Why else would I be here if I’m not using my role properly to influence and help?”
I don’t believe we should be living with homelessness in the 21st century. I don’t want to just talk about it. I don’t want to just listen. I actually want to see someone smile because their life has been made better
Prince William
Centrepoint CEO Seyi Obakin adds: “I’d rather have a prince who is living in a palace and is exercised about homelessness and is doing something about it, than one who is aloof.”
Homewards focuses on schemes in Lambeth, South London; Newport, South Wales; Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in Dorset; Aberdeen; Sheffield and Northern Ireland.
All have high homelessness rates and Wills wants to focus on them to create a model other regions can learn from.
The documentary shows initiatives he is backing and touches on a 24-home development he is building in Newquay, Cornwall.
He adds: “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 going to make a difference to people’s lives’.”
- PRINCE William: We Can End Homelessness airs on Wednesday and Thursday at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX, STV and STV Player.