Prince William's Heartfelt Tribute To Princess Diana Proves Her Royal Legacy Will Never Die
Even decades after her tragic death, Princess Diana still serves as an inspiration to many. And her oldest son, Prince William, is now taking up one of his mother's greatest passion projects.
William spoke about his mother and how she affected him in the documentary, "Prince William: We Can End Homelessness," which aired in early November of 2024. He talked about the responsibilities of his role, and how he could use his influence in a positive way. "I have taken some inspiration and guidance from what my mother did," he said, via ITV's YouTube, "particularly with homelessness." The doc, which served as a touching tribute to his mother, detailed William's plan to end homelessness in the U.K. with the Homewards program.
According to Homewards' website, the program will focus on six areas of the U.K., with each one organizing local businesses and support groups that will work together on a plan. That goal of that plan is to not only eliminate homelessness, but actually prevent it. In a clip from ITV, William commented "I come with no other agenda than desperately trying to help people who are in need."
Princess Diana's death forever changed Prince William
Princess Diana's untimely death came in August 1997, when she was killed in a tragic car accident. Her son Prince William was only 15 when his mother died, and he's never been the same since then. In a 2022 interview on the Princess of Wales YouTube, William talked about how her death devastated him. "There's nothing like it in the world," he said. "It's like an earthquake's just run through the house and through your life, and everything."
Diana's public work began in the 1980s when she spoke out about the AIDS epidemic, and eventually, homelessness. In a 1993 speech at an event hosted by Centrepoint, a youth homelessness charity in the U.K., Diana talked about society's responsibility to homeless youth. "We need to help them build a life for themselves," she said, "being there for them as they attempt to find their way" (via ITN Archive). In the years after Diana's passing, William began to focus more and more on charity work and bringing attention to social issues.
During the 2023 launch for Homewards, Prince William's homelessness charity, he mentioned visiting a homeless shelter as a child with his mother. In a YouTube clip from The Independent, William recalled being impacted by those visits, and how they later compelled him to do what he could to help, leading to his belief that homelessness could be ended for good.