Prince William admits he’s ‘nervous’ about key cornerstone of royal job

• Prince William admitted the second part of his Prince William: We can end homelessness documentary about how he was “nervous about the complexity and scale of what we were going to do” related to ending homelessness in the UK.
• The Prince of Wales launched his Homewards initiative in June 2023 and his two-part documentary covers the first year of the program’s five-year plan to end homelessness.
• He also admitted that his late mother, Princess Diana, who inspired Prince William to work on the issue, “would have thought I was probably crazy” when it came to tackling the issue.

When it comes to ending homelessness, Prince William won’t accept the status quo.

In the second part of his two-part documentary series. Prince William: We can end homelessness — which aired Oct. 30 and 31 in the U.K. on ITV — the Prince of Wales, 42, said “there has to be a better way than just acknowledging that homelessness exists and we just live with it.”

“I don’t believe it and I don’t… I won’t accept it,” he continued.

As in Part 1, he often referenced his late mother, Princess Diana, who inspired him to work on the issue by taking him and Prince Harry to a homeless shelter when they were young boys. Prince William admitted that his mother, who died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, when William was 15, “would have thought I was probably crazy if I started my five-year plan to kill Home.” homelessness in the UK, which it launched in June 2023. Prince William: We can end homelessness follows Homewards’ first year.

“What I want to see, and I think she would like to see, is action and movement and change,” William said of his mother and the work he does to combat homelessness. “You know, my mom introduced me to homelessness a long time ago, and it resonated deeply with me. Not just because of the moments I had, but because of the connection I felt. And I know it sounds strange, but when you feel a human connection with someone who is in deep trouble, I encourage no one to feel the urge to help.”

While in part one the Prince of Wales said he was around 10 or 11 years old when Princess Diana first took him and Prince Harry to a homeless shelter, in part two he said he first started discussing the matter with his mother. when “I was very small. I think I was probably 8 or 9 years old. And my mom started talking about homelessness, so I was probably running to school. And I remember asking questions then: why, how, who is this? So why are they sitting there? You know, when you’re that little, you’re just curious and trying to figure out what’s going on.”

The prince spoke in part one and in previous interviews about talking to his children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, about homelessness while they were at school and to this day .

In the documentary, Prince William spoke about his work to end homelessness: “I think I’m optimistic. I feel enthusiastic. I’m nervous about the complexity and scale of what we’re going to do, and the last thing you want to do is start something you can’t finish.”

“I’m not sitting here and saying I’m going to, you know, solve homelessness around the world. But I’m going to show people how to prevent homelessness,” he added. “Providing high quality temporary housing that will lead to more permanent housing, allowing people to thrive, prosper, rebuild their lives and become part of a community and feel like they belong somewhere. And this is critical.”

The ambitious initiative includes six locations planned that are a key cornerstone of William’s work as a member of the royal family.

“Homewards challenges the theory that we can’t do anything about homelessness,” he said in the film. “There’s definitely something we can do, and we need the business community to get involved and say, ‘You know what, on my doorstep, this is actually happening?’ And it’s good for society, but it’s also good for business, and it’s good for my business to do something about it.”

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Lainie Port, 21, was interviewed for the documentary and said of Prince William: “You know, he’s never had a hard time in his life. Like, he never had to choose between the washing machine and food at night. But I think he knows enough.”

“And even, you know, while he might not be able to end homelessness everywhere, he might change the way people think about homelessness.”

Prince William: We can end homelessness will be available on Disney+ in the US starting November 1st.