Williams' bold moves as the new Prince of Wales

 Williams' bold moves as the new Prince of Wales

Nine months after his appointment to office, the king, who turned 41 on Wednesday, met with Britain's Sunday Times for a rare interview, in which he opened up about his motivations and the evolving direction of his royal duties. It was William's first time speaking to the press since ascending the throne, his first conversation with a newspaper, and he didn't shy away from some of the tougher questions he was asked.

 

At the core of the interview was his efforts to tackle homelessness in the UK - a topic he has long been devoted to and which may have roots in his childhood through his late mother.

 

Williams believes there is a lot of misconception and judgment about what causes someone to have a bad night's sleep. In fairly blunt remarks, he makes it clear that, in his opinion, the current approach to tackling the problem is not working and that the focus should be on prevention.

 

“This challenge is not insurmountable. When someone becomes homeless (we can say, 'Okay, here's the way back, here's the way.' We can visualize that and show people there's a way to do this,” he says.

Some may argue that it is easy for a privileged person to voice ideas and criticism. But over the years, William has pledged to help solve the homelessness crisis in any way he can.

We've seen firsthand the number of times he's used his platform in real and meaningful ways to raise awareness of the challenges faced by the homeless. In 2009, he even spent a restless night on the streets of London to experience a reality for himself. He supports various charities and often tries to volunteer (although it's not always possible to stay under the radar).

In the Sunday Times
the article, William repeatedly teased an upcoming major project. Without getting into the details, he said, "It brings together all the wonderful people and pieces of the puzzle" and "from that, we can then get other councils in other parts of the country to copy it." It's about momentum."

He said he had not sought to interfere with government policy, arguing: "My plan is complementary to what is already being done." There was even a suggestion that royal lands could be used for affordable housing in the future - a criticism the family has often faced given the vast amount of land they own, including numerous plots of land. When asked if there were any plans for housing on his land in the Duchy of Cornwall, the heir was open to the idea but declined to give a timeline.

"Absolutely. Public housing. You'll see that when it's done. I'm not a policy expert, but I'm pushing it where I can," William said.

Speaking to people close to the Walesese these days, they often point out that the couple's recent campaigns are heavily geared towards making a lasting impact, and it's likely that William's upcoming project will have that in mind as well. What we are seeing is that the future king and queen are evolving their royal duties beyond just making sure they are visible so that causes of concern resonate with the public.

One takeaway from William's rare newspaper interview is how confident he is in the direction of his work. It's clear that he has developed a vision to make the role of the Prince of Wales his own, having inherited it from his father, and he can't wait to get started now that the ceremonial events, such as Trooping, are over the Color last weekend and the annual Order of the Garter ceremony can be seen in the rearview mirror.

He also didn't shy away from potentially sensitive topics like his family. Instead, he showed he was fully aware that the Windsors' perception had taken a hit in recent years.

"We're all very busy and I think it's sometimes hard to see what the family brings and what we're doing," he said in the interview. "But the multitude of occasions, the interests, the dinners, the meetings, the visits, whatever it is that we do day-to-day, year-round, we've always been involved. It's part of our job. It's about putting other causes, other people, and other interests in the spotlight and helping people where we can. We will continue to do so.”

His candid comments will go down well with royal watchers, but many in Britain, who continue to grapple with a cost-of-living crisis, will want to see action alongside words. Still, reminding people that monarchy is about more than pomp and pomp was a good start for the future king.