Prince George is set to follow in his father’s footsteps with a meaningful milestone, as Prince William reportedly plans to take his eldest son to help the homeless at Centrepoint, the London charity he has supported for 20 years.
William first visited the organisation after his mother, the late Princess Diana, took him to the same shelter when he was just 11 – a year younger than George is now. Since then, tackling homelessness has become an issue very close to his heart, and his dedication as patron has remained unwavering.
© GettyAccording to The Daily Mail, the Prince of Wales hopes to introduce George, 12, to the cause by meeting and supporting people experiencing homelessness.
A royal source told the publication that William often discusses the issue with George, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven, and intends to take his eldest to a shelter soon to meet some of the very people who inspired him to launch his Homewards initiative.
What is Homewards?
Homewards is William's ambitious five-year programme, launched in 2023 with The Royal Foundation, that aims to prevent homelessness across the UK. It operates in six locally led areas – Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole, Lambeth, Newport, Northern Ireland and Sheffield – each receiving up to £500,000 in funding.
By 2028, the goal is for these regions to be firmly on the path to ending homelessness for good, through collaboration with partner organisations ranging from frontline charities to major businesses.
Speaking about William's involvement in the cause, Michael Corbishley, Head of Local Delivery for Homewards, said: "This is an issue that the Prince has followed and has felt a very personal connection to from a young age, and I think he talked about, both when we launched the project and in the Homewards documentary last year, about his personal connection to it, but also using the platform that he has, to create positive action on this really important issue.
© Getty Images"The entire team hears from him on a regular basis, he's in regular meetings on Homewards. I think one of the things that inspired him and the team when they created Homewards were those global examples of seeing that this could be done.
"We've talked about an Australian example, and we've talked about Finland a lot. He's often reading about international examples, and sharing ideas with the team and indeed, he is closely following the work of Nansledan on the Duchy, and that's really, really important to him."
Prince William's patronage at Centrepoint
William became patron of Centrepoint in 2005, more than a decade after Diana began supporting the organisation in 1992.
The future king will be honoured at a celebration marking his 20-year milestone on Tuesday, where he is expected to receive a cake from royal baker Juliet Sear – best known for the Bruce Bogtrotter masterpiece in Netflix's Matilda the Musical in 2022.
© Getty ImagesCentrepoint CEO Seyi Obakin OBE revealed that the charity has curated a collection of photographs showcasing William's involvement over the past two decades.
Here's hoping George will be able to visit soon – and begin building his own legacy with the cause.
