DETERMINED TO CHANGE LIVES THE PRINCE OF WALES CONTINUES DIANA'S LEGACY IN A QUEST TO END HOMELESSNESS

He weathered a stormy start to the year, shouldering the burden of royal duties as both his father and wife began treatment for cancer.

- EMILY NASH

The Prince of Wales had the tricky job of striking a balance between fulfilling his royal obligations, prioritizing Kate’s treatment and focusing on keeping life as normal as possible for their children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6.

But fast-forward to the present and, having faced perhaps his biggest test so far, William is hitting his stride once again, going from a prince under pressure to a future King on a mission.

Ahead of his Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony in South Africa, William, 42, released a new documentary on homelessness, in which he spoke candidly about his late mother’s influence on him and the way he is raising his own children.

Diana, Princess of Wales, planted the seed of her eldest son’s work on homelessness by introducing him to shelters as a child. “She took Harry and I both [to The Passage],” the prince says in the film, recalling his earliest visit to a shelter – and, notably, referencing his brother in what is believed to be a first public mention since their estrangement. “I must have been 11 at the time, maybe 10.”

Now, three decades later, he is speaking out more boldly than ever, making waves in a field she championed during her all-tooshort lifetime.

REFINING HIS ROLE

“I have taken some inspiration and guidance from what my mother did, particularly with homelessness,” he says in the two-part film, “and that’s grown over the past few years.”