Prince William continues to celebrate England’s men’s football reaching the Euros final, as he celebrated Ollie Watkins’ “hell of a goal” to secure the match.
Prince William, an enthusiastic football fan, told guests at an event marking one year of his Homewards project that he has “got a hoarse voice after last night”.
The five-year project is being piloted in six areas of the UK, where local experts are being encouraged to work together to find solutions to ultimately eradicate homelessness in all its forms.
Speaking at the event, in Lambeth, London, William acknowledged that “demonstrating that homelessness is not an inevitable part of our society will take time” but said the progress Homewards has made in its first year is a “powerful reminder to everyone of what can be achieved when we work together towards a shared goal”.
He spoke of the importance of “shifting perspectives” about homeless people and the need to “focus on prevention, rather than simply managing the crisis”.
But William said “I truly believe that it can be ended” as he discussed the worrying scale of rough sleeping in the UK.
Arriving at the event on Thursday morning, William made his way around six stands representing the six locations of the project – Newport; the Dorset towns of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch (BPC); Lambeth; Belfast; Aberdeen; and Sheffield – where three or four local experts were ready to speak to him.
The team from BPC chatted to him about the game on Wednesday night, knowing the Prince is both President of the FA and an avid fan of Aston Villa – club of goal scorer Watkins.
“I’ve got a hoarse voice from last night!” William said. “I have a little moment when I thought ‘…he might do this’!? I was willing him on when he came on. It was a hell of a goal.”
Later in the event, as someone congratulated him on the result, he looked delighted but laughed: “I didn’t play last night, I can’t take credit for it.”
As he spoke with each of the experts from the six locations, he heard how they were tailoring their approaches to local issues.
He joked that establishing six areas had encouraged “a bit of competition”, adding: “I love that because it does bring the best out of everyone.”
William is also said to be playing an active role in developing further plans for practical projects in his Duchy of Cornwall, following a first drive to provide 24 homes in Newquay announced earlier this year.
The event included a “fireside chat” between Homewards advocate Sabrina Hatton Cohen, and Chris Lynam where the Prince thanked them for speaking about their own experience of rough sleeping, saying: “Keep talking about it please. We have got to break the stigma.”
William said in his speech: “I created Homewards because I wanted us to look at the issue of homelessness through a different lens: to inspire a movement to prevent people from ever experiencing homelessness in the first place.”
He vowed to “improve understanding about the different forms of homelessness, shifting perceptions and boosting optimism that it can be ended.”