After reducing his commitments for several months due to Kate’s illness, Prince William returns to the fore with a documentary focused on his commitment to the homeless, peppered with childhood memories with his mother.
the movie, We can end homelessness (“We can end the homelessness crisis”) airs in two parts, on Wednesday and Thursday nights on ITV and then on Friday on Disney+, a way to reach a global audience.
The involvement in this cause of the Prince of Wales, who has several palaces at his disposal, is already raising some criticism. But the initiative demonstrates the desire of the future king and his wife Kate, both 42 years old, to appear closer to the British, breaking with traditionally forced royal communication, to impose a more personal or even intimate tone.
The Princess of Wales thus addressed the public directly to reveal in March that she was suffering from cancer, in a video broadcast on social networks in which she appeared on camera, pale and alone on a bench. In September, with a film that captured moments of family happiness in a very cinematic way, he announced the end of his chemotherapy.
If William’s younger brother, Harry, multiplies documentaries – the most controversial is the one produced with his wife Meghan on Netflix at the end of 2022, in which the couple settles scores with the royal family – this approach is more unusual for the elderly.
In this film that follows him during the first year of launching his project “Homeward”destined to help the homeless, William evokes the memory of his mother, Princess Diana.
Unpublished photos show him, when he was about ten years old, with his mother and Harry, in a center for homeless people.
Several newspaper headlines, led by the Daily Mail, began to speculate on the simple fact that William uttered the name of his brother, with whom he was angry, believing he saw an outstretched hand.
“leave your mark”
“My mother took Harry and me.”remember, in excerpts already released. “I was a little worried, I didn’t really know what to expect.”. But “My mother displayed her usual art of putting everyone at ease, laughing and joking with everyone.”continue.
These visits, he says, opened his eyes to a world thousands of miles from his own and the cozy world of royal residences.
In England, some 178,500 households were considered homeless and eligible for accommodation in temporary structures in 2023-2024, according to official figures, an increase of more than 12% compared to 2022-2023. And every night, about 3,900 people sleep on the streets, according to other official data.
The eldest son of King Charles III claims that he talks about this problem with his three children George, Charlotte and Louis. And he leaves aside critics who accuse him of not being in a position to address this issue: “It’s part of my role”he assures.
“Unfair and immoral”
The anti-monarchy activist Graham Smith was delighted that his “Criticism was raised in the documentary.”.
“Of course, William has rejected all criticism out of hand and cannot accept the idea that his own position and abuse of public money is unfair and immoral.”denounced the director of the República organization in X.
For Pauline MacLaran, a professor at Royal Holloway University, the broadcast of this documentary is for William “the opportunity to leave your mark”.
“The issue of homelessness is extremely political, especially in these times when we see a huge increase in the phenomenon.”underlines. And for the monarchy, concerned about its sustainability, it is an attempt “to reach a younger audience”points out.
Source: BFM TV
