Prince William has been selling The Big Issue magazine on the streets of London to raise money for homeless people.
The future British King was seen in the UK capital on Thursday (09.06.22) wearing a red seller’s vest and hat before taking a spot in Rochester Row, Westminster, to offer copies of the publication to members of the public.
William, 39, was spotted by passer-by Vitalijus Zuikauskas, who took the chance to grab a photo with the Royal Family member to share on his Instagram account.
Vitalijus – who posts on Instagram as @zuikauskas and has a Facebook page (Facebook.com/zuikauskas) – wrote: “An unexpected meeting with Prince William.”
The Duke of Cambridge – who is married to Duchess Catherine – was also spotted doing his charitable deed by retired Met Police chief superintendent Matthew Gardner, who shared photos of William on his Linkedin account as well as details of his surprisingly meeting.
Gardner said: “My brother-in-law was in London today and saw a celebrity, so he took a photo at a distance.
“The celebrity saw the ‘covert surveillance’ effort and crossed the road to investigate further.
“What an honour to have a private moment with our future king who was humble and working quietly in the background, helping the most needy.
“These ‘silent gestures’ often go unrecognised.”
In return for the photos, William made sure he took the opportunity to make a sale to help rough sleepers in London.
Gardner added: “The finale to this unique occasion was when Prince William asked my brother-in-law If he wanted to buy The Big Issue, to which he replied ‘I have no change’. At this point William produced a mobile card machine… you cannot teach that!
“Priceless, or should I say ‘princely’.”
William has worked with numerous homeless charities for years, as it has been a social issue close to his heart ever since his late mother, Princess Diana, took him to see London rough sleepers when he was a boy.
William is the patron of Centrepoint homeless charity, and in February 2019 he became royal patron of the PASSAGE initiative. He visited the site to pack up lunches for those in need early in 2021.
And the prince has followed the lead of his mother – who tragically died in a car accident in Paris in 1997 – by teaching his children Prince George, eight, and Princess Charlotte, seven, about the plight of homeless people in Britain.
Speaking on TV Christmas special ‘A Berry Royal Christmas’ in 2020, William – who also has four-year-old son Prince Louis with Catherine – said: “On the school run already, bear in mind they’re six and four, whenever we see anyone who is sleeping rough on the streets, I talk about it and I point it out and I explain why and they’re all very interested.
“They’re like, ‘Why can’t they go home?'”