The Prince of Wales slipped on an apron to lend a hand as royal patron

Prince William is getting into the Christmas spirit with a group Princess Diana introduced him to.

On Tuesday, the Prince of Wales revealed that he visited The Passage in Westminster, London, to help serve Christmas lunch during the hub’s holiday party. The Passage works to end homelessness and support those in need, and Prince William, 41, has served as royal patron since 2019.

William shared hugs and put his arm around guests at the party. In one photo, he closes his eyes as a woman gives him an emotional embrace. His tactile gestures evoked the memory of his mother Princess Diana, who never shied away from offering hugs and gloveless handshakes — a rare move from royal family members at the time.

“A pleasure to join volunteers serving Christmas lunch at @passagecharity yesterday,” his Instagram caption began. “The Passage’s Resource Centre supports an average of 100 individuals a day whilst their new project, No Night Out, is reframing homelessness as a public health issue, helping people into emergency hotel accommodation.”

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Courtiers shared a carousel of photos of Prince William speaking to people in the kitchen and common area and posing for a picture — all while rocking an apron! The Passage gave an even deeper glimpse of the festivities in an Instagram reel, which showed the Prince of Wales slipping on the garment and having chats with clients and staff.
“Yesterday our Resource Centre doors opened for our client Christmas party, and what fun we had!🎄” the Passage team wrote.

“A special thank you to our Royal Patron, Prince William who joined us to prepare and serve food, and meet with those we support,” they continued, shouting out William. “It was a wonderful opportunity for our clients to come together over a tasty Christmas lunch and speak to the Prince of Wales about their experiences and time here at The Passage.”

The snippet rolled to show the kitchen crew preparing trays of roast turkey, roast beef, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and more, and King Charles’ elder son joined people as they ate.

Prince William has been familiar with The Passage since childhood, when Princess Diana would bring him and his brother, Prince Harry, along when she visited. William has returned on several occasions over the years and also follows in his mother’s footsteps supporting Centrepoint. The charity supports young people experiencing homelessness throughout the U.K., and Diana previously served as patron of the organization.

Prince William serves Christmas lunch at The Passage charity in December 2023. THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES/INSTAGRAM
Ending homelessness is a key area of focus for the Prince of Wales, who launched the Homewards initiative in June through the Royal Foundation. The campaign is providing $3.8 million to six different locations across the U.K. as seed money for an ambitious plan to make homelessness “rare, brief and unrepeated” through the next five years.

Around the time of the launch, Prince William revealed he was inspired to launch Homewards after visiting homeless shelters as a child with Princess Diana, who died following a car accident in Paris in 1997 at age 36.

“The visits we made, left a deep and lasting impression,” Prince William said at the Mosaic Clubhouse charity in June. “I met so many extraordinary people and listened to so many heart-breaking personal stories. Too many people have found themselves without a stable and permanent place to call home.”

Last week, Prince William made a surprise appearance to raise awareness and help end homelessness when he stepped out to sell copies of The Big Issue at a Tesco grocery in Hammersmith. Vendors receive half of the magazine’s $5 cover price to help them get back on their feet, and the Prince of Wales reunited with seller Dave Martin, who he quietly sold copies of the magazine on the streets of London with last summer. The heir to the throne went unnoticed until a former Metropolitan Policeman posted about it on LinkedIn, where the news went viral.

“It was surreal, but he was so friendly. He was concerned about me and about the homeless people,” Martin told The Big Issue on Dec. 5 about what it was like to work with William again. “There were good vibes from everyone — it’s been a great day.”

Great to be back with Dave, selling the latest edition of the @BigIssue once again!

Find your nearest vendor this festive season: https://t.co/4Gauhs9Hgy pic.twitter.com/BEtDn0Hwak

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) December 5, 2023

The Prince of Wales isn’t the only one paying it forward this holiday season – so are his wife and kids. On Monday, Kensington Palace revealed that Kate Middleton brought Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, for an under-the-radar visit to a baby bank in Maidenhead, Berkshire, where the royals lent a hand in organizing donations during the holiday season.

In recent years, the Princess of Wales has honed her longtime cause of early childhood to early development and the critical role caretakers play in the first few years of life. She launched the landmark “Shaping Us” campaign in January to take raising awareness to the next level, and her third annual Together At Christmas concert at Westminster Abbey last Friday spotlighted Shaping Us.