Diana's Legacy

Her compassion lives on in her sons and in the causes she held dear – as witnessed by Nick Hardwick, past director of Centrepoint charity for the homeless

- Claire Saul

Diana, Princess of Wales is remembered for many things, including her work with several charities – causes she committed to support using her privileged royal position. Professor Nick Hardwick was the director of Centrepoint when Diana began her association with the charity, which provides accommodation, health skills and life skills for over nine thousand homeless young people in the UK every year, setting them up for independence and employment.

“The Princess of Wales visited us even before becoming our patron in 1992,” explains Nick. “She came to our refurbished night shelter in Soho in London. At the time there was a big growth in the numbers of young people sleeping on the streets and Diana wanted to see things for herself. She wanted to use her fame to draw attention to the problem. She understood that as Centrepoint patron we wanted her to make public visits because that helped us with our fundraising and publicity but she did also make regular, private visits to our various hostels because she wanted to spend time with the young people themselves.