Helping Hands

It was all hands on deck for Prince William as he helped to furnish the last of 32 homes in Aberdeen as part of his flagship homeless initiative.

The heir to the throne was in the Granite City to mark three years of his Homewards campaign, which is working to end homelessness in the UK.

And William, known as the Duke of Rothesay when he is in Scotland, got straight to work by helping staff at Langstane Housing Association put together welcome packs with household goods for new tenants.

At one point he thought the CEO, Helen Gauld, said the items included ‘hairdryers’, to which he quipped ‘some of us don’t need hairdryers’, as he rubbed his bald patch. But Ms Gauld corrected him, saying: ‘I meant air fryers.’

The completion of houses supplied under Homeward’s flagship Aberdeen Innovative Housing Project (IHP), which focuses on aiding single individuals and young people facing relationship breakdown, was celebrated by his visit to Langstane, a Homeward delivery partner and registered social landlord.

He rolled up his sleeves to assist in moving furniture from the back of a delivery vehicle to an apartment after spending some time chatting with employees and one renter, Erin.

Before the new renter arrived, he was shown around the top-floor house after carrying the wooden IKEA chair up three flights of stairs.

Before he left, he joked: ‘The chair will hopefully stay in one piece.’

Aberdeen is the only Scottish location of six across the UK that has benefited from funding from The Royal Foundation as part of William’s ambitious scheme.

Other areas include Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Lambeth, Newport, Northern Ireland, and Sheffield.

After speaking to the Royal, Erin, who told him she was ‘delighted’ with her new home, said: ‘I just assumed I’d be getting a blank flat with nothing, but then it was offered and shown to me about homewards and was all put into place.

‘I feel safe and secure and like I know I have somewhere to go that’s my own, and it’s the way I want it. Having somewhere to call my own makes such a difference to how I see everything.’

Ms Gauld said the prince was ‘very interested in the tenant and how she was doing’, which she said was ‘really nice to hear’.

She admitted it was ‘a bit surreal’ seeing the Royal lend a practical hand but added: ‘It was very gratifying for all the staff for him to come and recognise the work that they put in on a daily basis.’

William spent some time talking to a few other Langstane tenants who had come to visit him before departing.

I think Prince William is doing great. He listened to the people and tried to help as much as he could, which is a lot more than the politicians by giving homes to non-British citizens, but saying that, how many homeless people has he actually homed? Good PR op though.

My goodness! What’s next? Opening a car door by himself?

An actual royal carrying a chair, it should be breaking news, around the world. Whatever next?

Unfortunately, the continued attention they receive from the media and the way pieces about various family members are written may often work against them and make their situation worse. It then risks becoming an oversaturation and self-promotion, even if what they do is for a good cause, and for these homeless people, it’s going to transform their whole universe and future, and that can only be a good thing.