Prince William (44) rolled up his sleeves in Aberdeen and helped furnish an apartment for a tenant of a housing association. The occasion was the third anniversary of his initiative "Homewards", with which the British heir to the throne aims to combat homelessness in all its forms. In the one-room apartment on the outskirts of the city, William personally carried a dining chair up three floors, while staff brought the remaining pieces of furniture. Afterward, the Prince was given a tour of the accommodation.
In the nearby offices of the housing association, William filled a reusable shopping bag with cleaning supplies destined for another new home. "All of this gives people the feeling that it's a home and not just a place where they have to stay", he said according to "STV News".
Prince William surprises with plenty of self-irony
A misunderstanding provided a lighthearted moment: When Helen Gauld, CEO of Langstane, mentioned the donated air fryers, the Prince according to "PA Media" understood "hair dryers" and quipped humorously: "Some of us don't need hair dryers", naturally alluding to his own thinning hair.
Earlier, William had taken stock in a speech at London's Tate Modern. "Three years on, 'Homewards' has helped more than 73 people into permanent housing, brought more than 250 people into employment, and reached thousands before they fell into crisis", he said about the initiative launched in 2023. These are not mere statistics, but people who "have a home, a job, and a future that would have looked very different just a few years ago". Homelessness is "not an individual failure, but a systemic failure".
Over the past three years, according to the information provided, 1.9 million pounds flowed through the Homewards Fund to the six locations, with an additional 3.5 million pounds coming through grants and private donations. In addition, surplus goods worth 2.3 million pounds were used to furnish apartments. The furniture for the Aberdeen apartment came from companies like Ikea; cleaning supplies and household appliances such as vacuum cleaners and those air fryers were also donated.
