Prince William reveals why Princess Diana would be ‘disappointed’

Prince William has taken part in a homelessness charity appeal for Red Nose Day, and revealed his mother would be ‘disappointed’ by the lack of progress in tackling the issue.

The Prince of Wales, 41, has worked with charity Groundswell, which is funded by Comic Relief, on a short film which will be broadcast as part of the annual fundraising appeal on Friday. 

In the thought-provoking programme, which will air on BBC One and will be available on iPlayer, the royal sat down with Nawshin and Miles, who have both experienced homelessness first-hand as they recorded a podcast as part of Groundswell’s Listen Up! project. 

In a snippet shared ahead of the film’s release, Prince William, who is the patron Centrepoint and The Passage, told the pair he was eager to understand their experience of living rough.

‘My mother introduced me to the cause of homelessness from quite a young age, and I’m really glad she did,’ he said. 

‘I think she would be disappointed that we are still no further on in terms of tackling homelessness and preventing it than when she was interested and involved in it.’

Last year, the Daily Mail revealed that William had vowed to make the issue of homelessness in the UK a key priority of his public work.

In 2020, he revealed that he talks to his older children Prince George, now eight, and Princess Charlotte, now seven, about the issue of homelessness.

Speaking to Mary Berry for her Christmas special A Berry Royal Christmas, he said: ‘On the school run already, bear in mind they’re six and four, whenever we see anyone who is sleeping rough on the streets, I talk about it and I point it out and I explain why and they’re all very interested. They’re like: “Why can’t they go home?”.’

During the film, the royal told Miles and Nawshin: ‘I’m here kind of to learn a bit more, and to hear a bit more about your lived experience of homelessness.’

During the conversation, Miles, sitting opposite Prince William, said: ‘Homelessness is about not having a safe space – it’s a very isolating life. You exist, you don’t live.

‘Groundswell helps to give a voice to people who have experienced homelessness. People who experience homelessness have solutions if you just ask them – they know what needs changing,’ he added.

Meanwhile, Nawshin said: ‘I didn’t have a choice but to leave home – I had a lot of childhood trauma and circumstances happened around me that were out of my control. 

In the thought-provoking programme, which will air on BBC One and will be available on iPlayer, the royal sat down with Nawshin and Miles, who have both experienced homelessness first-hand as they recorded a podcast as part of Groundswell’s Listen Up! project

Prince William said he believes Princess Diana would be ‘disappointed’ that we are no closer to tackling homelessness than when she got involved in the cause 

Miles, left, and Nawshin, right, shared their own experiences of dealing with poverty and homelessness with the Prince of Wales 

‘Coming to Groundswell and being supported to share my story has really helped me. It is powerful for people to actually listen,’ she added. 

Funds from this year’s Red Nose Day will be used to support people struggling in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis and tackle issues like homelessness, as well as mental health and food poverty in the UK and across the world. 

Samir Patel, who has been the CEO of Comic Relief since 2021, said: ‘We believe those who are closest to the issues have the best solutions and we’re proud to be supporting Groundswell’s important work to enable people facing such difficulties to not only be heard but be part of finding new ways to tackle homelessness. 

‘Our huge thanks go to Prince William, Nawshin and Miles for helping to raise awareness of this worsening issue and raise much needed funds at such a crucial time,’ he added. 

Red Nose Day returns on Friday 17 March, from 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer.