Prince William has taken a conciliatory step in his feud with Prince Harry by appointing him publicly for the first time in six years.
In a new documentary, William tells how Princess Diana took the brothers as children to a homeless shelter in London to show them the reality of life outside the palace.
The film, titled ‘Prince William: We Can End Homelessness’, features poignant, unseen photographs of William and Diana in the Passage at Westminster.
In one, taken when Princess Diana visited William on June 14, 1993, just days before his eleventh birthday, the young prince is seen anxiously playing chess with a homeless man at the shelter.
Another, taken in December that year, shows a young William in a suit and boots standing next to his mother in the shelter, his arms filled with gifts to give.
Prince William has publicly mentioned Harry for the first time in six years
Prince William and Diana, Princess of Wales, during a visit to The Passage in London
The documentary reunites the brothers on screen, if only through an old photo of both boys who visited the shelter in 1993
A young Prince William plays chess during a visit to The Passage
“My mother took me to the Passage, she took Harry and I both there… I’d never been to anything like this before and I was a bit worried about what to expect,” William explains.
‘My mother did her usual thing of making everyone feel relaxed and joking with everyone… I remember having a good conversation, playing chess and chatting.
‘You meet people, like me then, who put a different perspective in your head.’
The emotional opening highlights how the prince’s passion to end homelessness is driven by memories of his mother.
The film highlights how trauma and family breakdown are common causes of homelessness, with the former sadly familiar to the Prince of Wales.
In addition to the death of his mother, William remains estranged from his younger brother.
Until this film, William is believed not to have spoken his brother’s name in a public speech or interview since 2018, when the two princes, along with the Princess of Wales and Meghan Markle, were interviewed at the Royal Foundation Forum.
The documentary also reunites the brothers on screen, if only through an old photo of both boys visiting the shelter in 1993.
Filming also coincided with another personal trauma: the cancer diagnosis of his wife, the Princess of Wales.
Insiders acknowledge that filming took a little longer due to everything the Prince was ‘dealing with’, but added that he was ‘very accommodating’ despite the challenges.
The cameras started rolling in June last year when the Prince launched his Homewards project, which aims to end homelessness in six British areas: Aberdeen; Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole; Lambeth; Nieuwpoort; Northern Ireland and Sheffield.
In a new documentary, William tells how Princess Diana took the brothers as children to a homeless shelter in London to show them the reality of life outside the palace.
King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Prince Charles, Diana and William and Harry sit on the steps of Marivent Palace on August 10, 1987
In addition to the death of his mother, William remains estranged from his younger brother
Prince William offers help at The Passage at Kensington Palace
A look at William and Diana ahead of his documentary ‘Prince William: We Can End Homelessness’
The Prince of Wales behind the scenes during the filming of a documentary for the Homewards Campaign
We see the prince at public appearances and in interviews with the director, Leo Burley, but the palace remains tight-lipped just as the prince sat down to talk.
What emerges is a prince who is serious about making his mark.
“I believe that with my position and my platform I should create change,” he says.
‘I feel compelled to take action because I don’t want to just talk about it. I don’t just want to listen. I actually want to see someone smile because their life has gotten better. Therefore, setting up a project is the only way I see at the moment to try to enlighten and help people who are in a much less fortunate or very difficult situation.”
Such a statement could be interpreted as rhetoric against the traditional royal ribbon cutting and an indication that he could become a rather radical king.
William is a modern man who prefers watching box sets to reading, and it has already been suggested that he could be the first British monarch to cut ties with the Church of England.
Others close to the current king point out that Charles was also a pioneering prince with projects such as the traditionalist village of Poundbury in Dorset.
At other points in the film we catch glimpses of the person behind the prince. When he meets 21-year-old Lainey, a young girl who is homeless and is training to work at Pret, he jokes, “Listen, if anyone can figure out how to operate a cappuccino machine, he’s great. Well done, honestly. Those machines, I look at them and I think, ‘You need a degree to do this. They’re crazy.’
After meeting William, she says, “Even though he’s rich and people see him as a bit posh… he didn’t judge… I just felt like he was one of my friends.”
Other stars of the show include Sheffield-based community activist Safiya Saeed and advocate Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, who was previously homeless.
Prince William and Harry at the opening of a fountain built in memory of Diana in London’s Hyde Park
Harry and William attend the unveiling of a statue of their mother in The Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace
A look at William during filming for ‘Prince William: We Can End Homelessness’ on ITV1 and ITVX
Another look at Prince William as he volunteers his time at the Passage in Kensington
The film, titled ‘Prince William: We Can End Homelessness’, features poignant, unseen photographs of William and Diana in the Passage at Westminster
Homewards aims to find successful charity models, focusing on the Salvation Army in Cardiff, which brought former rough sleeper Wayne into his own home.
In a powerful scene, Wayne is taken to Windsor Castle to meet Prince William.
Wayne’s experiences are deeply moving, as is knowing that the meeting was filmed at the same location where the Princess of Wales filmed her cancer announcement in March.
The filmmakers also confront William with the criticism that his wealth and (numerous) houses make him an unsuitable poster boy for a homelessness project.
“I think if I answered every critic I’d be here all day,” he replies.
‘Criticism drives you forward. I think it’s fair to question this, but ultimately we’re striving to bring change, hope and optimism to a place where, quite frankly, there has been very little of it for a long time. I hope I can bring something that hasn’t been done before.’
It’s a response that may not satisfy his detractors, but it’s clear that William cares deeply about the issue, not despite his life and experiences, but because of them.
‘Many people can identify with trauma. Many people are dealing with the break-up and loss of families,” said Homewards lawyer Ms Cohen-Hatton.
“I think the prince’s ability to relate to people on that human level comes from some experiences he himself has had.”
The two-part documentary airs on Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 October at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
