We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Prince William has confirmed his support in the fight against homelessness with his latest engagement, which has a clear link with his late mother Princess Diana. The Prince of Wales visited this morning the London hub of Depaul UK, an organisation the late Princess of Wales visited on three different occasions in the 1990s as part of her work to end the homelessness crisis. This engagement comes one week after the publication of Prince Harry‘s book Spare, a memoir in which the Duke of Sussex speaks extensively about his late mother, the impact her untimely death had on him and how he wanted to carry on her legacy.
The goal of the organisation is to support young people experiencing homelessness or insecure housing.
In order to do so, Depaul UK offers tailored, long-term support to help individuals in need to address the issues that have led to their homelessness.
The ultimate aim is to allow these youngsters to eventually live and work independently.
Depaul UK delivers workshops with schools, providing young people with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate life’s challenges and prevent youth homelessness.
The charity also works with the Government and local authorities, religious entities and NGOs to develop new ways of responding to the homelessness crisis and putting an end to it.
The comments come after A-lister Kimmel mocked passages of the Duke’s memoir on his late night show, including parodying an account about his frostbitten penis.
Read more HERE.
During his visit, William heard about the services offered by Depaul UK from its staff as well as both people the organisation is currently assisting and those who had received help in the past.
The heir to the throne learned how this support impacted people’s lives both at their crisis point and throughout their journey they started with Depaul UK towards independent living and working.
The issue of homelessness is one of the cornerstones of William’s work, alongside mental health and the climate emergency, and has been tipped to be one of the “key themes” for the Prince this year.
The royal is the patron of homelessness charities The Passage and Centrepoint and often pays them public and private visits.
READ MORE: Prince Harry ‘abandoned’ by royals despite ‘olive branch’ invite
In June last year, to mark his 40th birthday, the Prince of Wales penned an op-ed in the Big Issue magazine in which he pledged to “continue doing what I can to shine a spotlight on this solvable issue not just today, but in the months and years to come”.
Mentioning his children, he added: “And in the years ahead, I hope to bring George, Charlotte and Louis to see the fantastic organisations doing inspiring work to support those most in need – just as my mother did for me.”
In his comment piece, the royal also said he refused to believe homelessness is an “irrevocable fact of life” which can’t be solved.
Ahead of the publication of this op-ed, William also joined a Big Issue vendor, Dave Martin, in central London, to sell copies of the magazine directly supporting its sellers and further put the spotlight on the vendors.
In 1993, the late royal took along with her for a visit there both William and Prince Harry, a visit the heir to the throne said years later had taught him the values of respect, dignity and kindness to the most vulnerable.
This is the second solo engagement William carried out after the publication of Spare, which saw Prince Harry making claims about his deteriorating relationship with the Prince of Wales – including that he had mostly ignored him throughout their time together at Eton.
In one of his most extraordinary allegations, Harry claimed he was physically attacked in early 2019 by Prince William during a heated conversation about Meghan Markle.
The fifth-in-line to the throne also claimed neither William nor Kate had been warm to the Duchess of Sussex from the beginning.
Kensington Palace has not commented on the allegations made by Harry in his memoir.
See today’s front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive.