The late Princess of Wales died in a car accident on August 31, 1997, when William was just 15 years old.

The UK is facing its worst homelessness crisis “in living memory”, with more than 350,000 people in the UK without a permanent home. Prince William wants to change that.

In the first part of his two-part documentary, Prince William: We can end homelessness — which aired on October 30, and part two will air on October 31 — the Prince of Wales, 42, is letting the cameras follow him through his first year Home initiativea five-year project announced in June 2023 with a mission to make homelessness “rare, brief and unrepeated”.

“I think it’s really important to try to change and address the narrative about homelessness,” William said in the first part of the documentary. “People live with it. We see it every day in our lives. It’s something I want to challenge.”

He added: “I feel that with my position and my platform, I should provide change.”

Related: Here’s how you can watch Prince William’s ground-breaking new documentary in both the UK and the US

William’s mother, Princess Dianaappeared frequently in the first part of the docuseries, with the Prince of Wales saying “I got some guidance from what my mother did”.

He remembered that Princess Diana took him and his younger brother, Prince HarryTO The passage — who work to end homelessness and help those in need — when they were boys.

“He must have been about 11, I think probably then. Maybe 10,” William said. “I’ve never been to anything like this before. And I was a little worried about what to expect. My mother did her usual part of making everyone feel relaxed and laughing and joking with everyone. I remember thinking at the time, “Well, if everybody doesn’t have a house, everybody’s going to be really sad.” But it was incredible how happy an environment it was.”

“I remember having some good conversations just playing chess and chatting, and then I realized that there are other people who don’t have the same life as you. When you’re young enough, you don’t really – you think life is what you see in front of you. You don’t really have the idea to look elsewhere. And it’s when you meet people, like I did then, who put a different perspective in your head and say, “I was on the street last night.” And you’re like, “Wow,” you know. It’s like — I remember that happening,” William added.

The kingdom became the patron of the Passage as well Central pointanother charity working to eradicate homelessness. Princess Diana also patronized Centrepoint during her time as a royal, and the organization was one of the first to be patronized by William in 2005, at the start of his royal career.

“She made sure that when (we) grew up, life outside the palace walls was real, not just a statement,” Prince William said of his mother’s influence. “It was a real fact. And it’s funny how times turn out, isn’t it?”

He is now talking about homelessness with their own children Prince George11, Princess Charlotte9 and Prince Louis6 years, which he shares with his wife Kate Middleton42.

“When I was very young, my mother started talking about homelessness, just as she does now with my children at school,” Prince William said in the documentary. “I saw people on the street. You know, when you’re (so) small, you’re curious and you kind of try to figure out what’s going on. Simply ask the question, like “Well, why am I sitting there?” And mom was telling us a little bit about why they were there. And it certainly had a very big impact.”

As it grew into his royal role over the years, “I’ve slowly been trying to figure out what I can bring to the role and the platform that I have,” William said. “What do I feel works? What do I feel people want to see from me? And I was inspired and guided by what my mother did, especially with the homeless. And that has grown more in recent years.”

Related: Prince William recalls touching childhood memory with Prince Harry in first public mention of sibling in years

Elsewhere in the documentary, the future king spoke of his privilege, not only to have known life without a home, but to have lived in royal residences all his life. (The home he shares with the Princess of Wales and their three children, Adelaide Cottage, is more modest in comparison, with four bedrooms – but still extraordinarily privileged.)

“When you meet homeless people and you talk to them and you understand, at least, I can’t pretend to understand homelessness,” William said. “But you see in their eyes and the way they talk — the pain and the journey they’ve been on and how they carry this huge weight with them.”

“I’ve spent enough time learning and listening to what people have been through that I almost feel guilty every time I leave, that I’m not doing more to help, and I feel compelled to act because I don’t want to just talk about it. I don’t just want to listen. I actually want to see someone smile because their life has been improved. So building a project is the only way I can see at the moment to try to relieve and help people who are in a much less fortunate situation or in a very difficult situation,” he continued. he.

“Our whole ethos is to empower those already on the ground and give them the tools, expertise, resources and funding so that this can be a transformative programme,” added William.

Of the six initial Homewards locations, he continued: “In the first 12 months, we would like to build partnerships and networks in those locations. We want solutions to start emerging. I think the ultimate ambition is to show that homelessness is a problem that can be solved and that it can be prevented and that it doesn’t have to be as big or as bad as it is now.”

Many voices other than William’s are heard in the first part of the documentary, such as Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, who works with William on Homewards. She experienced life on the streets and has since become the Chief Fire Officer of West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.

“You don’t have to have experienced homelessness to be able to relate to people experiencing homelessness,” she said. “A lot of people can relate to trauma. Many people can relate to family breakup and loss. And I think the prince — his ability to relate to people on that human level is because of some of the experiences he’s had himself.”

Safiya Saeed, a community activist working with Homewards to tackle rising levels of homelessness, is also featured in Prince William: We can end homelessness.

“People who criticize Prince William and say that a person who lives in castles and palaces doesn’t understand homelessness – we don’t care where he lives,” Saeed said. “The most important thing is that he is a man and he shows it by driving something. And if not, who will? That is what we expect from our future king.”

“I feel like we finally matter,” Saeed continued. “People who feel they have no power, no impact — for the future king to say, ‘Look, we’ve got to put a stamp on this.’ I feel like it’s time. It was about time and I’m glad it’s coming from him.”

Regarding the mission of his work on homelessness, William said on the docuseries, “I believe that everyone who has the right to a safe and stable home benefits us all. I come with no agenda other than trying desperately to help people in need. And I see that as part of my role. Otherwise, why would I be here if I don’t use my role properly to influence and help people where I can? And I like a big challenge – I like that – but I can’t do it alone.”

Prince William knows the stake is high, but he’s ready to tackle the problem. “It’s ambitious. It’s big,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of hard work.”

He added: “I don’t think we should be living with homelessness in the 21st century. At some point you have to say, ‘Okay, come on, we’re actually going to do something that’s going to really change people’s lives.’ “

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The second part a Prince William: We can end homelessness will air on October 31st on ITV in the UK and will be available on Disney+ for US viewers on November 1st.