Prince William's ambitious £3m battle to end the misery of homelessness

Prince William today launches an ambitious £3million programme to ‘end’ homelessness within five years. Prince William listens as he meets with Tyrone Mings, Gail Porter, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton and David Duke, ahead of the launch of Homewards - a five-year programme to demonstrate that it is possible to end homelessness in the UK As a member of the Royal Family, William acknowledges his critics may question why someone from such a privileged background believes they can solve such a widespread issue The programme, run by his Royal Foundation, will be known as ‘Homewards’. Pictured: Prince William greets television personality Gail Porter Pictured: Prince William meets with Aston Villa star Tyrone Mings William was introduced to homelessness by his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, at the age of 11 on a secret visit to a homeless shelter run by The Passage, of which he is now patron. Pictured: Diana speaks at the Centrepoint Conference for the Homeless in 1995 Prince William and Centrepoint CEO Seyi Obakin prepare for a night in freezing temperatures in 2009 Figures suggest more than 300,000 people – nearly half of whom are children – are homeless Although there has been no public acknowledgement from his father, sources say the King wants Homewards to serve as William’s legacy in the same way The Prince’s Trust, which helps young people aged 11-30 find jobs, education and training, did for King Charles.