Prince William will star in a new two-part docuseries following the work of his homelessness initiative, Homewards, which will air in Britain this fall.
In Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, the royal will provide behind-the-scenes insight into his work with the Homewards initiative, which was launched in June 2023 with the goal of making homelessness a "rare, brief and unrepeated" issue in modern society.
This is not the first time that the prince has fronted a documentary. In 2010, William traveled to Botswana to promote the work of the Tusk charity, which was celebrating its 20th anniversary with the documentary Prince William's Africa. The prince was also shadowed and provided interviews for the makers of the 2020 documentary Prince William: A Planet For Us All.
The new show will follow the prince over two one-hour episodes as he launches the Homewards initiative in six hub areas around Britain. It will also spotlight those experiencing homelessness and the issues they face.
The initiative was developed by William's Royal Foundation as a program to provide the six initial hub sites with a five-year commitment to supplying tools, expertise, funding, and space to support homeless members of their communities. The goal is that this model can one day be replicated across Britain and around the world.
Although William has said in the past that he may seem "one of the most unlikely advocates" for supporting the homeless, given his privileged background, he has linked his lifelong dedication to the social issue back to his mother, Princess Diana.
Diana was a vocal supporter of homelessness initiatives during her lifetime, becoming a patron of charities supporting Britain's most vulnerable people. One of these was the Centrepoint charity in London which provides support and shelter to people without a safe place to stay.
In 2005, William took over the royal patronage of the charity that had been left vacant since Diana's untimely death at the age of 36 in 1997. It was the first official patronage William accepted as a working royal.
William's new docuseries has been commissioned by Britain's ITV network and has been directed by BAFTA award-winning Director Leo Burley.
In a press release announcing the show, Burley said it would look at the "incredibly moving" stories of people currently facing homelessness in Britain.
"Over the past year we have spent time following Prince William and The Royal Foundation through the first year of the Homewards programme," he said.
"We've heard some incredibly moving stories from people across the country facing homelessness. From street homelessness in Newport, to families living in temporary accommodation in Sheffield, and youth homelessness in Aberdeen, the documentary paints a picture of homelessness across the UK today, working with many people who never expected to experience life without a place to call home.
"Everyone we've filmed with has welcomed the spotlight that Prince William and Homewards are placing on the UK's homelessness crisis."
Hinting at why William may have agreed to take part in the show, the CEO of the Royal Foundation, Amanda Berry OBE, said that the organization is aware that "television has the power to change hearts and minds."
"We know that television has the power to change hearts and minds. Homelessness can seem like it is hard to prevent but by sharing the realities of people's experiences and those who are coming together to support them, we can inspire action," she said.
"This two-part documentary will help raise vital awareness and demonstrate that, by working together, it is possible to end homelessness."
No official air date for the show has been announced, though an "autumn" time frame was given.
William is not the only royal to recognize the social good that television programming can achieve.
The royal's brother, Prince Harry, and sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, formed their own production company to create documentaries and media projects when they split from the monarchy in 2020.
So far, Archewell Productions has released three docuseries: Harry & Meghan, Live to Lead, and Heart of Invictus.
The duke and duchess have announced two further documentary projects: one focused on the sport of international polo and the other a show curated by Meghan, which will focus on her love of entertaining.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III and Queen Camilla, William and Princess Kate, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
