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So Cool!Prince William Becomes Patron of Charity That Late Mom Princess Diana Once Worked With
He’s following in his late mother’s charitable footsteps! On Wednesday, February 13, Kensington Palace announced that Prince William is the new royal patron of The Passage, the UK’s largest resource center for homeless people since 1980. And to make William’s new philanthropic partnership even more special, The Passage was formerly a charity that the royal’s beloved mom, Princess Diana, also worked with in the past.
“The Duke of Cambridge has today become Patron of homeless charity The Passage — here His Royal Highness is pictured with The Duke of Sussex and their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, in an early visit to @passagecharity. Swipe 👉to see a visitor’s book entry made by The Duke of Cambridge and Diana, Princess of Wales in 1993. The Duke has made additional visits to the charity at various points over the last 25 years,” the official Kensington Palace Instagram account captioned two throwback photos of William and Prince Harry visiting The Passage with Diana back in the early 1990s — check out the snapshots below!
Later on Wednesday, the @KensingtonRoyal Instagram account also shared a video of William, 36, helping to make and serve meals to the homeless with The Passage staff.
“The Duke of Cambridge visited The Passage today for the first time as the homeless charity’s Patron. His Royal Highness helped Head Chef, Nour Shab, prepare spaghetti bolognese, before joining in the lunch service with Malcolm, who’s been volunteering with the @passagecharity for 21 years. Later, the duke met people taking part in the charity’s ‘Home for Good’ program, which pairs volunteers with formerly homeless clients to help them settle into community life,” the post’s caption explained — see the video below!
We can’t imagine how meaningful working with The Passage must be for William, especially since the charity shares a special connection with his mom. In a 2016 interview, the father-of-three opened up about the meaningful impact his childhood visit to The Passage with Diana — who sadly died in a 1997 car crash at age 36 — has had on him.
“The visits I made as a child to this place left a deep and lasting impression on me — about how important it is to ensure that everyone in our society, especially the poorest, are treated with respect, dignity and kindness, and are given the opportunities to fulfill their potential in life,” William said at the time.
The Duke of Cambridge isn’t the only member of the royal family who has been given new patronages this year as his sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, was also just named the royal patron of four organizations. Despite having her hands full with her first pregnancy, the palace confirmed in early January that the Duchess of Sussex, 37, will be working with charities that support the arts, access to education, support for women and animal welfare.
Meg will be working with the National Theatre and the Association of Commonwealth Universities, two patronages that were passed down to her from Queen Elizabeth. The former Suits actress has also partnered with Smart Works, which “helps long-term unemployed and vulnerable women regain the skills, confidence and tools to succeed at job interviews, return to employment and transform their lives” and serve as patron of the animal charity Mayhew, which works to “improve the lives of animals and people to better communities both in London and internationally.”
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