Prince William declares he ‘won’t accept’ homelessness
Prince William “won’t accept” homelessness.
The future king, 42, who was inspired to help those without homes by his late mother Princess Diana’s charity work, opened up about how he thinks there is no excuse for leaving people in need in the second part of his two-episode documentary series ‘Prince William: We Can End Homelessness’.
He said on the show: “There has to be a better way than just accepting that homelessness is there and we just live with it.
“I don’t believe that, and I don’t – I won’t accept that.
“What I want to see, and I think she would want to see, is action and movement and change.
“You know, my mother introduced me to homelessness a long time ago, and it’s something that had a deep resonation with me.
“Not just because of the moments I had, but because of the connection I felt. “And I know that sounds weird, but when you feel human connection with somebody who’s been in deep trouble, I challenge anyone not to feel a desire to help.”
William, who was aged 15 when his mother died aged 36 after a Paris car accident on 31 August, 1997, added she “would’ve thought I was probably mad to start off Homewards” – his five-year plan to eliminate homelessness in the UK he launched in June 2023.
The royal told in the first part of his docuseries how he was aged around 10 or 11 when Diana took him and his younger brother Prince Harry, 40, to a homeless shelter for the first time.
He added about the visit: “I was very small. I think probably I must have been 8 or 9, I think. And my mother started talking about homelessness, so I was probably on the school run.
“And I remember at the time asking questions as to. ‘Why, how, who is that? Well, why they’re sitting there?’
“You know, when you’re that small, you’re just curious and kind of trying to work out what’s going on.”