Prince William attends opening of Centrepoint centre in Peckham

Prince William’s homeless project has been slammed by anti-monarchists just hours after the scheme was launched. The Prince of Wales is hoping to tackle the issue with a new five-year plan named Homewards. To launch the project William has embarked on a two-day trip to visit six pilot projects around the country, all of which have received grants of up to £500,000 from the Royal Foundation. But not everyone agrees this is an issue the Prince should be tackling.

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Graham Smith, CEO of the anti-monarchist group, Republic said the issue is more of a political one.

He said: ” “Homelessness is a political issue which needs a government response.

“Ending homelessness requires government intervention, not royal platitudes.”

The group has been particularly active in recent months, starting at the King’s Charles’ Coronation when groups protested through the procession where campaigners launched into a chant of “not my King”.

Last week the group also announced they would protest on the King and Queen’s upcoming trip to Edinburgh where they will be presented with Honours of Scotland at St Giles’s Cathedral.

Announcing the plans, Mr Smith said: “We are back. We will not be deterred from protesting by the arrests at the coronation, and will continue to make the voices of millions of Republicans heard around the UK.”

“Ending homelessness requires government intervention, not royal platitudes.”

William has expressed his passion to tackle homelessness on a number of occasions and revealed the project, entitled Homewards, has taken two years to launch.

Launching the project on Monday morning, the heir to the throne gave a moving speech where he mentioned his mother, the late Princess Diana. 

Speaking at Mosaic Clubhouse in south London, which supports people with mental health conditions, William said: “My first visit to a homelessness shelter was when I was 11 with my mother. The visits we made, left a deep and lasting impression.

“I met so many extraordinary people and listened to so many heart-breaking personal stories. Too many people have found themselves without a stable and permanent place to call home.”

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Meeting with those involved in the project William said it is “quite exciting” and he “can’t believe” the project is starting as he is “looking forward” to the next five years.

As part of the campaign, six projects are being launched across the UK with William’s Royal Foundation providing the initial £3million of funding.

In a recent interview, William revealed that he speaks to his three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis about homelessness.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, William said: “On the school run, we talk about what we see.

“When we were in London, driving backwards and forwards, we regularly used to see people sitting outside supermarkets and we’d talk about it.

“I’d say to the children, ‘Why are they there? What’s going on?’ I think it’s in all our interests, it’s the right thing to do, to expose the children, at the right stage, in the right dialogue, so they have an understanding.

“They (will) grow up knowing that actually, do you know what, some of us are very fortunate, some of us need a little bit of a helping hand, some of us need to do a bit more where we can to help others improve their lives.”

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