A photo of Prince William selling copies of The Big Issue that Kensington Palace shared to X on Dec. 5.Photo:Kensington Royal/X
Kensington Royal/X
Prince Williamshocked supermarket shoppers when he was spotted selling magazines.
On Tuesday, the Prince of Wales, 41, stepped out to sellTheBig Issueat a Tesco grocery in Hammersmith, a borough west of London. Sales ofThe Big Issuebenefit unhoused and vulnerable people experiencing poverty across the U.K., and Prince William firststepped outto sell the publication in June 2022.
“Great to be back with Dave, selling the latest edition of the@BigIssueonce again! Find your nearest vendor this festive season,” Prince William’s team wrote on theXaccount he shares with his wife,Kate Middleton, linking out toThe Big Issuevendor website. The post came with a new photo, which showed the prince in a red baseball cap and vest branded with the Big Issue’s logo smiling beside Dave Martin, with whom he sold magazines last summer.
Speaking about what it was like to reunite with the Prince of Wales, Martin toldThe Big Issueit was “very nice” to see him again.
“It was surreal, but he was so friendly. He was concerned about me and about the homeless people," he said. ”There were good vibes from everyone — it’s been a great day.”
Martin added that he and Prince William have stayed in touch since they first met and exchanged Christmas cards both last year and today.
Homelessness is a key focus of Prince William’s philanthropic work, and hereflected on howhis late mother,Princess Diana, introduced him to the importance of the “solvable issue” in an essay forThe Big Issue, timed to his 40th birthday in June 2022. The heir to the thronesecretly soldcopies of the magazine on the streets of London that month, and he went unnoticed until a former Metropolitan Policeman posted about it onLinkedIn, where the news went viral.
In a special opinion piece published on the eve of his 40th birthday, for a June edition that he and Martin covered, William reflected on their experience selling magazines on the street together. Vendors receive half of the $3.70 cover price to help them get back on their feet. Together, the two sold 32 copies — with many members of the public, including recent refugees from Ukraine, stopping to chat with the prince.
Prince William and Dave Martin sold copes of the The Big Issue in June 2022.Andy Parsons/ The Big Issue
Elsewhere in the essay, Prince William reflected on the impact his first visit to a homeless shelter with Princess Diana had on him at age 11, remembering how his mother “in her own inimitable style was determined to shine a light on an overlooked, misunderstood problem.” Prince William later became the patron ofThe Passagein London and the U.K.-wideCentrepoint, which both work to end homelessness and support those in need.
Prince William and Dave Martin on the cover of The Big Issue in June 2022.Andy Parsons/ The Big Issue
In his most focused push to end homelessness yet,King Charles’ elder son launched the newHomewardsinitiative in June through the Royal Foundation. The new campaign will provide $3.8 million to six different locations across the U.K. as seed money for an ambitious plan to make homelessness “rare, brief and unrepeated” through the next five years.
In September, Prince William spenttwo days touringall six of the U.K. locations where the Homewards project is taking place. The homelessness initiative will be one of the projects that define his working life for many years to come, a legacy for both him and his mother.
Prince William visits East Belfast Mission at the Skainos Centre in June 2023 as he prepared to launch the Homewards project.Liam McBurney - Pool/Getty
Liam McBurney - Pool/Getty
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While speaking at the Mosaic Clubhouse mental health charity, William said his inspiration for Homewards came from visiting homeless shelters as a child with his mom Diana.
“The visits we made, left a deep and lasting impression,” Prince William said. “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.”
source: people.com
