“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’
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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.”
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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