Prince William gave an exclusive interview about his big new homelessness project

Prince William gave his first interview as Prince of Wales to Roya Nikkhah at the Sunday Times. The Times of London is part of Rupert Murdoch’s press empire (through News Group Newspapers). Nikkhah has become one of William’s go-to people, she’s always writing stories which are well-sourced from “William’s camp” and “royal sources in Kensington Palace.” This relationship between prince and royal reporter really flourished following NGN handing William a secret, seven-figure settlement in 2020, a settlement which was only revealed this year by Prince Harry. Rupert Murdoch has seemingly bought and compromised a prince and future king. What’s funny is that William doesn’t even seem to realize how compromised he is. Anyway, the exclusive interview with Nikkhah isn’t just William reading off some talking points (surprisingly). The purpose of this whole thing is for William to hype his big new project about homelessness.

A really big project: This month, the prince will launch “a really big project” from his and the Princess of Wales’s Royal Foundation, his first significant intervention as heir to the throne. “It’s nerve-racking,” he says. “But I’m really excited. I’ve been waiting for the right time to do this.”

Political Peg: There is genuine passion and optimism as William, who turns 41 on Wednesday, repeatedly mentions the name of his new five-year project, details of which are under wraps until the end of the month. He is 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.”

Changing the narrative about homelessness: “There’s a lot of preconceived ideas around homelessness. There’s still stigma, when actually a lot of people don’t understand the fundamental basics. We just see the individual on the streets and go, ‘Oh’. Loads of judgments as to why that person is there. You see more elderly people homeless because that’s what we see on the street. What we don’t see is the youth homelessness — sofa-surfing, people sleeping in their cars or on a mate’s bed. A lot of youth homelessness is very hidden. If you actually sit down and hear from young people why they’re in their situation, it’s like a jigsaw. There are so many pieces that have had to come together or fall apart, that meant they’ve ended up where they are.

But he’s above politics: William recently met Michael Gove, the housing secretary, and Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, to brief them on his plans. Some might wonder why it is the heir to the throne, rather than the government, launching a big homelessness project. “I’m not here to talk about government policy,” he says diplomatically, conscious that the royal family must remain “above politics”. “My plan is an additive to what is already being done.”

His many homes: With homes at Kensington Palace, Adelaide Cottage in Windsor and Anmer Hall on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, as well as the run of many other royal residences, William is — by his own admission — “one of the most unlikely advocates for this cause”. In his new role as Prince of Wales, he also controls the Duchy of Cornwall, a 130,000-acre property empire stretching from Cornwall to Kent. That is a lot of spare bedrooms, and many wonder why he does not give some of them over to the homeless. An eloquent non-answer ensues. I ask again: “So there are no duchy plans yet for affordable housing?” A pause. “There is,” says William. “Absolutely. Social housing. You’ll see that when it’s ready. I’m no policy expert, but I push it where I can.” It is a curveball from William that aides were not expecting him to reveal, but it is thought he will “start small” with social housing on his land. If he can demonstrate it is viable, he will scale it up.

What’s the point of the royal family? The monarchy has had a bumpy few years. The death of Queen Elizabeth, the fallout from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s departure to America, and the Duke of York’s antics have dealt hammer blows to the institution. The public may want a few more “big gestures” from its royal family, and William knows this project is a chance to refocus minds on what the monarchy is for. The feud with his brother has taken up far more airtime than he would wish, and he concedes that not everybody sees the point of the royal family. “We’re all very busy and I think it’s hard sometimes to see what the family bring and what we do. But the amount of causes, the interests, the dinners, the meetings, the visits, whatever it is, that we do day in, day out, throughout the year, we’ve always been involved in that. It’s part of what we do. It’s trying to spotlight other causes, other people, other interests, and help people where we can. We’ll continue to do that.”

Whether he gives cash to homeless people he encounters: “I don’t tend to give money. I tend to buy them a drink, food, something like that. I find that when I’m walking around or driving past and see other people do it [give money], people don’t even look at them. How many people stop and talk to somebody who is homeless? Very few of us. In my job, I get to meet these people, I get to hear the stories, I get to feel it, I get to see it. That for me — and I’ve heard from them themselves — matters an awful lot. They’ve become invisible. It’s really important that society acknowledges that there is somebody there and they’re having a tough time. It shouldn’t happen but it’s right there. You can’t ignore it.”

He doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s helping homeless people: “I try and do these things subtly, when there’s no media and no one else knows about it.” He tried — and failed — to go under the radar in London last year, selling copies of The Big Issue. He was wearing jeans, trainers, a baseball cap and a red tabard, with no media in tow, but was soon recognised by passers-by. “It’s very hard to make it not about me — [that’s] what I don’t want to do. That was about promoting homelessness. If you’re doing to go and do genuine gestures, you do them privately, you don’t do them with an audience.”

[From The Sunday Times]

When he sold The Big Issue, he was posing for selfies and he literally brought a camera crew. Mr. You Don’t Do Them With An Audience, GMAFB. I don’t even agree that charity should be done in silence or away from the cameras, like that’s not the f–king goal, especially for a public figure like William – his “power” should be the attention he can bring to causes and charities he cares about. And I guarantee that people who are struggling would prefer to have money rather than a prince with five homes telling them patronizingly that they are seen and here’s a power bar. It will be interesting to see if he follows through with using Duchy properties to house homeless people (I suspect he will not) and I’ll admit, I’m curious to see what this big new project is. Ten bucks says it will just be William’s version of Kate’s Early Years busywork, like it will be some new study about homelessness or some new scheme to divert funds away from homeless charities and put those funds into the Royal Foundation (which is what happened with Heads Together).

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images and social media, cover courtesy of The Big Issue.

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