Some of you have theorized that the British media not-so-secretly hates Prince William. For what it’s worth, I think it’s more complicated than that. They’re disappointed that he’s such an awkward dud, they’re mad that they’re constantly tasked with embiggening him, but they also feel like they can control him and manipulate him into doing what they want. So, they’ll do his bidding and fluff his ego at times, and other times, they “keep him in line” and say just enough to remind William that he works for them. Last night, Part 1 of Prince William: We Can End Homelessness aired on ITV. It looks like the first part of the documentary went down poorly. The Daily Mail’s Jan Moir, fresh from a month’s worth of hissy fits about the Duchess of Sussex’s red dress, wrote a scathing column about this documentary: “As one of the wealthiest landlords in the country, Prince William wants to end homelessness… but he’s not unaware of the paradox.” Some highlights:

William’s plan doesn’t involve giving people housing: Prince William has an ambitious new initiative – he wants to eradicate homelessness in the UK within five years. Well, jolly good for him…What could be more worthwhile than giving the homeless and the destitute somewhere safe and warm to sleep at night, instead of taking their chances on the cold and dirty streets of our cities? Oh, if only there was someone who had castles and mansions and vast country estates and multi-bedroom palaces and a Duchy of Cornwall property portfolio worth about a billion at his disposal, someone who could throw open his arms and the doors to his inherited privilege and perhaps eradicate the problem in one, ermine-tinged swoop? As one of the wealthiest landowners in the country trying to help those who haven’t got a carpet tile to call their own, Prince William is not unaware of the paradox of his position.

William’s own words: ‘Why else would I be here if I am not using this role properly to help people who are in need,’ he said last night, when the vague spectre of criticism was faintly raised. ‘I don’t believe we should be living with homelessness in the 21st century,’ he reasoned. ‘I feel like with my platform I should be delivering change.’

The ‘unprecedented’ access to William: Of course, when it comes to royal documentaries, we all know this means exactly the opposite. Participants are usually muffled in a headlock of deference and, in this instance, restricted to a meticulously curated view of only what Prince William wants to be viewed. There was footage of William looking concerned at meetings, William looking concerned as he spoke to homeless people and William looking super concerned as he marched around with a folder under his arm.

The photos of Diana: Six minutes in and he was already wearing a comedy apron, dishing out roast potatoes at a charity Christmas lunch and talking about how he was inspired to help the homeless by the memory of his mother; exclusive and personal photographs of William and Diana visiting a homeless shelter duly provided. Sometimes one cannot escape the feeling that we are all bystanders in a monumental existential struggle between Prince William and Prince Harry to be known henceforth as Mummy Loved Me Best.

William didn’t address anything vaguely “political”: In the first of two parts, broadcast last night, viewers were fed some sobering but unchallenged statistics: 350,000 people across Britian now lack a permanent home, 80,000 families are living in temporary accommodation and since 2019, more than 109,000 homes in the private rental sector have received Section 21 eviction notices. This suggested further homelessness even though the Labour government will abolish these notices next year. Prince William did not comment directly on these figures, nor were the complex political and societal reasons behind them analysed or discussed.

William speaking to a homeless person: ‘Wayne, how do we get the national psyche of people to understand the human story of why people might be street homeless?’ William asked. How indeed.

What is William actually trying to achieve? Of course he means well, but at the end of part one, I was no clearer about how the prince was going to achieve his Homewards objective, except that he seemed keen on providing an ‘umbrella’ for well-established homeless organisations such as The Salvation Army, Shelter, the Big Issue and Centrepoint. ‘If I can be the glue that will hold you together,’ he suggested at a meeting. I don’t think they were too impressed.

[From The Daily Mail]

So, I find myself in the unfortunate position of agreeing with Jan Moir on something. The last part is how I feel too – “except that he seemed keen on providing an ‘umbrella’ for well-established homeless organisations such as The Salvation Army, Shelter, the Big Issue and Centrepoint.” Which is fine – that’s basically an admission by William that he wants to donate money to charities working with homeless people and that’s it. That’s all Homewards is too, William donating funds and adding some keen bureaucracy so that people know the money came from him. Just do that. But making a two-part documentary in which William wanders around and tries and fails to convince people that he’s a homelessness expert is a pathetic waste of people’s time and money.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.