LONDON 鈥 Prince William has recalled how his late mother Princess Diana took him to a shelter for homeless people when he was just 11 years old, saying how the visit opened his eyes to how others lived a different life to him.
In an extract from a documentary about his efforts to end homelessness to be broadcast this week, the heir to the British throne said how Diana how introduced him and his younger brother Prince Harry to the cause as part of her determination to raise wider awareness of social issues from AIDS to mental health.
鈥淚鈥檇 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,鈥 William said of the 1993 visit to The Passage charity in London.
Last June, the elder son of King Charles launched a five-year project 鈥淗omewards鈥 which he said was inspired by Diana.
Homeless charities say it is hard to know exactly how many people are living on the streets but statistics released this month said 178,560 households were assessed as homeless in England in 2023-24, up 12.3% on the year before.
In focusing on homelessness, William said he was 鈥渄esperately trying to help people who are in need, and I see that as part of my role.鈥
He recalled during his visit to The Passage playing chess and chatting with those there.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 when it informed me that there are other people out there who don鈥檛 have the same life as you do,鈥 he says in the documentary. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e quite small… you just think life is what you see in front of you. You don鈥檛 really have concept to look elsewhere.
鈥淎nd it鈥檚 when you meet people that I did then who put a different perspective in your head and say… I was living on the street last night.鈥
The full ITV documentary, 鈥淧rince William: We Can End Homelessness,鈥 will be shown on Oct. 30 and 31. 鈥 Reuters
