Prince William is speaking out about how he views his role as a public figure.
Ahead of the release of his documentary Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, which tracks the first year of his his Homewards initiative, a new clip released Oct. 16 sees the Prince of Wales, 42, asked the question of what he’d say to people who wonder if he’s the right person to lead efforts to end homelessness.
William carefully considers the question and responds, “Everyone having a right to a safe and stable home benefits us all. I come with no other agenda than desperately trying to help people who are in need, and I see that as part of my role.”
“Why else would I be here if I’m not using this role properly to influence and help people where I can?” he added, before concluding, “I like a big challenge, I do like that, but I can’t do it on my own.”
To that end, William has enlisted several organizations, ranging from local authorities to companies and charities in the U.K., to push to find and share new solutions to tackle the issue.
William, who has followed his late mother Princess Diana’s leadership in the area of homelessness, was raised in the utmost privilege as a royal, with access to palaces and several private homes.
In another trailer released on Oct. 13, he paid tribute to his late mother, saying, “I’ve slowly tried to work out what can I bring to the role and the platform that I have. I have taken some inspiration and guidance from what my mother did, particularly with homelessness.”
The two-part series premieres on ITV and ITVx on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31.
The Prince of Wales behind the scenes filming a documentary for the Homewards campaign in a clip released Oct. 16, 2024.
Andrew Parsons/Kensington Palace
Prince William launched his Homewards initiative with The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2023. Homewards seeks to make homelessness “rare, brief and unrepeated” in the next five years, and the prince also aims to show that the crisis isn’t confined to the historic image of someone sleeping on the streets.
In his documentary, William chats with soccer player Fara Williams, who experienced homelessness for six years, according to the BBC. “You played for England and Chelsea whilst you were homeless,” he said.
“I don’t believe we should be living with homelessness in the 21st century,” Prince William concluded the video.
Prince William, Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland, speaks next to Homewards Advocate Gail Porter during an event hosted by Homewards Aberdeen on Sept. 19, 2024 in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Russell Cheyne – WPA Pool/Getty
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As a child, Prince William and Prince Harry would visit homeless charities with their mother, the late Princess of Wales, who died in 1997. Much of Princess Diana’s work with those experiencing homelessness took place in England. She was a patron of Centrepointthe U.K.’s leading youth homelessness charity, and Prince William became patron of the same organization in 2005.
Prince William is expected to attend the Centrepoint Awards on Wednesday, Oct. 16, celebrating the remarkable achievements of young people who have transformed their lives after experiencing homelessness.
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