It isn’t often that we get to hear Prince William and Prince Harry speak fondly of one another, but this might be an exception. In William’s new documentary about ending homelessness, he tells a story of a childhood memory involving both his younger brother and their late mom, Princess Diana.
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Prince William is starring in a two-part documentary.
The documentary, titled Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, is about the prince’s initiative to help end homelessness in the United Kingdom. This is a cause that was also close to his mother Princess Diana’s heart, and she is the one who opened his eyes to just how important it is.
As children, Diana took both William and Harry to work with a charity that helps the unhoused.
William explained that Diana used to take them to The Passage, a charity that helps the homeless.
“My mother took me to The Passage; she took Harry and I both there,” he said. “I must have been 11 at the time, maybe 10. I had never been to anything like that before, and I was a bit anxious about what to expect. My mother went about her usual, making everyone feel relaxed, having a laugh and joking with everyone.”
William ended up enjoying his visit.
“I remember at the time kind of thinking, ‘Well, if everyone doesn’t have a home, they’re all going to be really sad.’ But it was incredible how happy an environment it was,” he said in the documentary. “I remember having some good conversations, playing chess, chatting — and that’s when it dawned on me that there were other people out there who don’t have the same life as you do.”
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It opened his eyes to the reality of the world.
Growing up in the royal family as a future king is a level of privilege that most people will never experience, and even at a young age, spending time at The Passage was a heavy dose of reality for William.
“You know, when you’re quite small, you just think life is what you see in front of you and you don’t really have [the] concept to look elsewhere,” he admitted in the documentary. “It’s when you meet people, as I did then, who put a different perspective in your head and say, ‘Well, I was living on the street last night,’ and you’re like, ‘Woah.’ I remember that happening.”
Now, Prince William is an official patron of The Passage.
When William became a patron of the organization in 2019, he shared a post on Instagram about how long he had been visiting.
“Over the many years that I have visited The Passage, first with my mother when I was just a small boy, I have developed a great affection for you all,” he wrote at the time. “I am always so impressed to see and hear the difference that The Passage makes to the lives of people who are experiencing homelessness. Thank you to everyone for your continuous work.”
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