Prince William has hit back at his critics tonight, with very public slap down over homelessness in his new ITV documentary, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness’.
The two-part documentary, with the second part set to air tomorrow on October 31, has aired a year after launching his Homewards campaign.
Speaking of the critics who question whether he is the right person to tackle such a cause, William said: “I think everyone having a right to a safe home benefits us all.
“I come with no other agenda than desperately trying to help people who are in need and I see that as part of my role, why else would I be here if I am not using this role properly to influence and help people while I can.”
He added: “And I like a big challenge, I do like that, but I can’t do it on my own.”
The Homewards project aims to eradicate homelessness within the next five years. Lord John Bird, who is founder of the Big Issue, has claimed that he now wants to see all the “failed thinking” towards homelessness being put “behind us” and called for no “bull****”.
Speaking to Big Issue, Lord Bird said: “We need the expertise of everybody. We’ve had local authorities working here.”
“We’ve had charities working there. We’ve had governments working there. We need now to put all of the failed thinking that has gone into homelessness over the last 30 years behind us, and we’ve all got to come together.
“So when William says he wants to converge it, that’s what I want, and I don’t really want to have any bull****.”
The 42-year-old’s innovative Homewards initiative, which was launched last year with the intent to combat the homelessness crisis, is set to establish bases in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Sheffield, Lambeth, Aberdeen, Newport and also in Northern Ireland.
The Royal Foundation is pitching in a hefty £500,000 for each location to furnish vital “space, tools and expertise” in the relentless battle against homelessness.
Speaking in the documentary, William also credited his mother Princess Diana for inspiring him to be ambitious in his goals – reflecting on his visits to homeless shelters as a child with Harry and their mother.
