William’s 40th birthday message to George, Charlotte and Louis after Big Issue stint

William is the cover star of the latest Big Issue, having joined a vendor on the streets of London earlier this month, and has written an article for the magazine about his experience

Ahead of his 40th birthday, Prince William has vowed to further “shed light” on the “solvable problem” of homelessness – and introduce his children to charities that support rough sleepers.

William is the cover star of the latest Big Issue, having joined a vendor on the streets of London earlier this month, and has written an article for the magazine about his experience.

He described his time with salesman Dave Martin as “eye-opening” and said he was recognized by those who stopped to buy the magazine, which allows the homeless to earn an income by selling the publication.

In a question-and-answer article with Mr Martin, the Duke, who turns 40 tomorrow, described the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations as a “beautiful weekend” that marked a “moment of national unity” after “a few difficult years” bot.

Writing for the magazine, he said of the problem of homelessness: “And while I may seem like one of the most unlikely advocates of this cause, I’ve always believed in using my platform to tell these stories and to raise awareness and action excite those who fight. I’m planning that now that I’m turning 40 even more than I have in the past.

“So, for my part, I commit to continuing to do everything in my power to bring the spotlight to this solvable problem, not just today, but for the months and years to come.”

“And in the years to come, I hope to make George, Charlotte and Louis see the amazing organizations doing the inspiring work to support those most in need – just as my mother did for me.”

Diana, Princess of Wales, put William in a homeless shelter when he was 11 to broaden the horizons of the future king, and today he is a patron of homeless charities Centrepoint and The Passage.

Wearing a red salesman’s vest and baseball cap, with official accreditation pinned to his chest, the Duke joined Mr Martin, who had volunteered to show William the ropes, outside a Sainsbury’s local in Victoria, a 10-minute walk from Buckingham away.

News of the famous Big Issue seller soon spread by word of mouth, and a line formed of people eager to meet the future king. But they had to buy the magazine, and 32 copies that normally took the Guidebook a week to sell sold out in less than an hour.

During his time on the streets, William spoke to a number of people fleeing the war in Ukraine, and he told the magazine: “We met two Ukrainian refugees.

“The daughter lives here, she brought her mother from Kyiv. Unfortunately, they lost a number of family members and most of their belongings.

“Grandmother is still out there.

“And then there was another gentleman who unbuttoned his shirt like Superman with a Ukrainian logo on it. He has his whole family over here and they lost everything.

In the question-and-answer session, William proposed tackling homelessness promoted by the

Any initiative to move rough sleepers to shelters early in the pandemic may have been lost – but he remained optimistic.

He told Mr Martin, 60, a Big Issue seller for 11 years: “I felt my birthday was a good occasion. I wanted to make sure we were highlighting something that is important to me.

“On the back cover of Everyone In, I felt like this problem isn’t quite as big as we think it is. But it feels like it’s back to how it was before the pandemic.

“We can fix it. It’s possible – I never want to say homelessness will end completely because every day something different can happen for someone – but more than we’ve done to deal with it.”

He spoke about Diana’s influence on his public work when they chatted at The Passage, a charity for the homeless that is a few minutes’ walk from where they sold the magazine.

William said: “Ever since I came here with my mum, homelessness has been an issue I’ve wanted to fight for.

I’ve done everything in my power to raise awareness of the homeless and I want to do a lot more.”

When asked by Mr Martin about the anniversary celebrations, the Duke replied: “It’s been a lovely weekend, thank you. It was a moment of national unity, I felt. I think it brought a lot of people together. I think it made everyone feel a little better after a difficult few years.”