Prince William has given his first official interview since becoming the Prince of Wales. In the rare interview with The Times – his only newspaper interview – he reveals that he is working on a “really big project” which feeds into the lifelong vision of ending homelessness – a vision instilled in him by his mother, the late Princess Diana.
- Prince William has given a rare interview, and his first since taking on the role of Prince of Wales
- Revealing ambitious plans and “really big project” to end homelessness, he also touched on how he is exposing his children to the harsher realities of life, similar to how his mother did with him
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Prince William sat down for his first official interview as Prince of Wales and proved he was willing to do things his own way, making some bold promises and speaking frankly about the privileges his family enjoy.
Talking to The Times, he opened up about his ultimate goal; and it’s one inspired by his mother. This is to not just combat homelessness, but end it entirely.
William became patron of the homelessness charity, Centrepoint, in 2005 – taking on the role Diana held from 1992 until her death in 1997.
In refreshingly frank comments, William – perhaps proving that Charles’ monarchy will break away from the long-standing rule of staying out of politics – speaks strongly on the current situation.
He is described as being frustrated that government, councils and charities have for too long been “managing” homelessness instead of “preventing” it.
“We can do it,” he says. “It’s not insurmountable, this challenge. If anyone does become homeless [we can say], ‘OK, here’s the way back, here’s the pathway’. We can visualise that and we can show people that there is a way to do it.”
One of the most surprising promises William made – one which the publication writes took his aides by surprise – was promising to build social housing across the land he owns as both Prince of Wales and Duchy of Cornwall.
Asked if there are plans to build affordable housing across land under his ownership, William says, “There is. Absolutely. Social housing. You’ll see that when it’s ready. I’m no policy expert, but I push it where I can.”
On a more personal level, William confronts the difficulty in making his own children aware of the harsh realities of life outside of palaces.
He explains, “When I left this morning, one of the things I was thinking was, ‘When is the right time to bring George or Charlotte or Louis to a homeless organisation?’ I think when I can balance it with their schooling, they will definitely be exposed to it.”
“On the school run, we talk about what we see. When we were in London, driving backwards and forwards, we regularly used to see people sitting outside supermarkets and we’d talk about it.”
“I’d say to the children, ‘Why are they there? What’s going on?’ I think it’s in all our interests, it’s the right thing to do, to expose the children, at the right stage, in the right dialogue, so they have an understanding."
"They [will] grow up knowing that actually... some of us are very fortunate, some of us need a little bit of a helping hand, some of us need to do a bit more where we can to help others improve their lives.”
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