Prince William Has Big Plans on Princess Diana’s Birthday This Year

Prince William has chosen a deeply meaningful date to spotlight the progress of his mission to end homelessness — what would have been Princess Diana’s 64th birthday.

On July 1, William will travel to Sheffield in northern England to mark the second anniversary of his Homewards initiative, which aims to make homelessness “rare, brief and unrepeated.” The cause is one that has long resonated with him — inspired by the compassion and advocacy of his late mother.

As children, William and his brother Prince Harry were taken by Diana to visit shelters, where she helped shine a light on the humanity behind homelessness. William has carried that torch, becoming patron of organizations Diana once supported, including Centrepoint and The Passage.

Across the six pilot areas, more than 100 projects are already underway — and one of the most significant breakthroughs has been securing over $50 million in financing from Lloyds Bank to support the development of housing across these regions. Homewards calls the investment a “groundbreaking moment,” one they hope will inspire other institutions to unlock new streams of funding for affordable homes.

Ahead of his visit, Prince William released an open letter to the six participating regions — Sheffield, Newport in South Wales, Aberdeen in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Lambeth in London — commending their progress and urging continued momentum as they are in “delivery mode.”

As he prepared for his outing, William released an open letter to the six participating areas – as well Sheffield they are Newport in south Wales, Aberdeen in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Lambeth, London. He said they are now very much in “delivery mode” as the second year comes to an end.

“Your experiences are what makes Homewards unique and powerful,” William wrote. “We have the ability to harness our collective capabilities, expertise, and resources towards this common cause. I am immensely proud to say that your collective effort has already allowed us to achieve lasting impact.”

“I am confident we can lead and inspire understanding, empathy and optimism that homelessness can be ended,” he continued. “Focus is also important, and you have identified the groups particularly at risk of homelessness in your locations to drive solutions that show it is possible to prevent their homelessness.”

William added, “While visiting the six locations, I have been inspired by the motivation, creativity, and expertise that is embodied in each location and the tangible difference you are making for some of society’s most vulnerable.”

“Keep going!” he signed off.

Reflecting on the program’s progress, Lydia Stazen — former Executive Director of the Institute of Global Homelessness and a member of the Homewards National Expert Panel — says the initiative is “exactly where I would expect the program to be at this point. The networks have been built, the foundations have been laid and we are seeing really concrete outcomes.”

She adds that Homewards came at exactly the right time for the sector.  After the COVID pandemic, levels of burnout of frontline workers and executives were “extremely high,” she says. “Homewards was perfectly timed to bring in that fresh energy and bring in some new partners and resources, which was so desperately needed at that point.”

Polly Neate, former CEO of U.K. charities Shelter and Women’s Aid, says Homewards is confronting one of the biggest challenges in the fight against homelessness: the widespread sense of disempowerment and defeat.

“Having somebody like Prince William really being very clear that it is possible to prevent homelessness, it is possible to end it, is hugely impactful and we are already seeing that,” she says.

“During my time at Shelter — and before — we have seen other joined-up initiatives that have sought to tackle homelessness and those have been really valuable. But they have, in the main, focused on crisis intervention,” she continues. “We need to get out of this idea that crisis intervention is going to end homelessness. That’s because the primary causes of homelessness are systemic.”

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“What Homewards is doing at the local level is demonstrating how those systems can work differently in order to prevent and end homelessness in those localities,” she says.

The Prince of Wales has played a pivotal role in setting Homewards apart — and driving its early success.

His leadership brings “a particular type of figure who isn’t found in other communities,” says Stazen, pointing to his ability to convene, inspire and motivate action.”

“I think it is why Homewards has been able to get where it’s got in two years because there is that excitement and leadership — and that comes [in the Prince’s case] from a really heartfelt place,” she says.

For William, Homewards isn’t about replacing or overshadowing existing efforts to combat homelessness — it’s about empowering new, innovative ideas and supporting practical projects.

“It’s about the people who hold trust within those local communities, and those are the people who are really going to make it happen,” Neate says of the local experts who deliver results.

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During his July 1 visit, Prince William will begin the day by meeting with representatives from the six U.K. regions piloting locally tailored solutions through Homewards.

He’ll then visit a school in Sheffield to see the impact of a new early intervention model aimed at identifying young people at risk of homelessness and offering targeted support. Known as “Upstream,” the program is inspired by the Geelong Project in Australia, which achieved a 40% reduction in youth homelessness and a 20% drop in early school leavers. The initiative highlights how Homewards is drawing on and adapting proven global strategies to create meaningful change.

William will also mark a major milestone — celebrating the first residents moving into Sheffield’s Innovative Housing Project.

Source People.com