Prince Wiliam praised his wife, Princess Kate’s work on early years during a visit to Sheffield today.
The Prince of Wales headed to South Yorkshire to speak about homelessness and learn how residents, landlords, the local authority and others are working together to help tackle the issue of those without a permanent home.
During one of his engagements, one of the participants mentioned the importance of the early years of childhood, to which William replied: “That’s my wife’s area. She needs to sit here.”
The Princess of Wales has been recovering from abdominal surgery since January and was last seen with William at the Windsor Farm Shop close to their Adelaide cottage home in the grounds of Windsor Castle on Saturday.
Today, the future king spoke about his Homewards initiative and said he hopes his ambitious project to eradicate all forms of homelessness in six UK locations eases the day-to-day “pressure” councils face so they can plan ahead.
At a community space in a disadvantaged area of Sheffield, William sat down with leading landlords working in the city and other organisations who all support Homewards.
He asked Ajman Ali, Sheffield City Council’s executive director: “Does something like Homewards allow you the space, if you like, to help in this area?
“Because bearing in mind with the council, you run so many things, (in) so many days, when do you ever get to lift your head up and actually get ahead of a lot of the problems that councils, all up and down the country, are always busily dealing with.
“I’m hoping that Homewards comes along (and can) lift that pressure off you, bring more people into the mix and allow you to then able to plan and see something further down the line.”
Homewards is a five-year project launched by William in 2023 to bring together a range of individuals and organisations to develop bespoke homelessness solutions in Newport, South Wales, three neighbouring Dorset towns, Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch, the south London Borough of Lambeth, Belfast, Aberdeen and Sheffield.
At the meeting, William formally pledged up to 1500 Home Starter Packs, which could include paint, furniture, flooring and furnishings, to help tenants turn a property into a home.
William later arrived at the Millennium Gallery, in Sheffield city centre, where he took pictures with royal fans and joined a Homewards Sheffield Local Coalition meeting.
The, the Prince of Wales heard about the people who have been homeless and are now working to help others in the Sheffield area.
Chris Lynam, 41, told the royal how he left the Royal Navy with post-traumatic stress disorder and this led him down a path of drug and alcohol addiction and, eventually, prison.
William told him: “Chris. Can I just say how brave you are to be here and talk about your story?”
Speaking after the visit, Mr Lynam, who works with the Sheffield-based Cathedral Archer Project for homelessness, said: “Wow. Not what I expected. He was [a] really nice man and he really listens, which took me back a little. I liked him.”
The Homewards Sheffield Local Coalition has been convened over the past nine months by Homewards to create a shared vision for Sheffield and formulate a Local Action Plan towards ending homelessness in the city.
The group includes over 70 organisations and members of the local community with lived experience of homelessness.
