Prince William has said that his mother, Princess Diana, would have been disappointed at the lack of progress in preventing homelessness.
Appearing in a video for this year’s Red Nose Day charity appeal, William visited people supported by the homelessness charity Groundswell, which is funded by Comic Relief.
In the video, which will be shown on BBC One on Friday (17 March) for the annual telethon, the Prince of Wales met people who had been helped by the charity.
“My mother introduced me to the cause of homelessness from quite a young age, and I’m really glad she did,” William said in the video, opening up about the influence of his mother’s philanthropic work on his own outlook.
“I think she would be disappointed that we are still no further on, in terms of tackling homelessness and preventing it, than when she was interested and involved in it.”
Official government figures reveal that rough sleeping in England has risen by 26 per cent in a year, amid the cost of living crisis.
It also warned in the video that the number of those sleeping on the street remained the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of the wider problem of homelessness.
Prince William spoke to people who had been supported by the Groundswell charity, funded by Comic Relief. He met with Nawshin and Miles, who are supported by the charity.
Sitting down with Nawshin and Miles, William told them: "I am here really to learn a bit more from you both, to hear a bit more about your lived experience of homelessness."
Miles told the royal that homelessness “is about not having a safe space”, stating: “It’s a very isolating life.”
He added: “You exist, you don’t live. Groundswell helps to give a voice to people who have experienced homelessness.”
Prince William is a patron of the Passage homelessness charity, a central London organisation he visited with his mother when he was a child.
Last month, William opened two residential buildings which are said to support 225 people per year.
At the opening ceremony in February, he said: “Ending homelessness must be thought of as more than simply a wishful aspiration. Instead, it should be viewed as an achievable goal.”
Red Nose Day will air on 17 March from 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
