Prince George, 12, volunteers at The Passage in London
On Tuesday 16 December 2025, Prince William brought his 12-year-old son, Prince George, to The Passage in Victoria, London. Wearing aprons, they joined the kitchen team to help prepare the centre’s Christmas lunch and chatted with staff and people using the service. Sky News reported the Tuesday morning visit, and People confirmed the date.
In a quiet moment, George signed the same visitors’ book page as his father and his late grandmother, Princess Diana, a page first signed in 1993 when Diana took an 11-year-old William to the charity. Reuters noted that Kensington Palace saw the day as a chance to share volunteering and service with George, with photos showing the pair laying tables for the meal.
Reporters also highlighted the practical, festive tasks: George helped assemble holiday care packages, baked cupcakes and decorated a tree. The Times described it as a proud dad moment for William, with staff praising George’s eagerness to get involved.
Here’s why we’re covering this for you. A high-profile visit gets attention; we can use that attention to learn what homelessness means, how language shapes empathy, and what real solutions look like. If you’re teaching this story, invite your class to separate the warm images from the work that follows after lunch is served.
The Passage has worked in Westminster since 1980 and is guided by the values of St Vincent de Paul: practical help, dignity and advocacy. Its services span prevention, immediate welfare, accommodation, health support and help into work.
In the last financial year (April 2024 to March 2025), The Passage says it supported more than 3,000 people, served over 46,000 meals, prevented over 2,200 people from becoming homeless and enabled over 900 people to gain financial stability. These are the steady steps that move someone on.
The risks are real and layered. London’s CHAIN data for October to December 2024 recorded 4,612 people sleeping rough, up 5% year on year. Almost half were on the streets for the first time, and 69% had complex mental health, drug or alcohol needs; Westminster alone accounted for around a fifth of London’s rough sleeping.
Another hard truth: exploitation feeds off vulnerability. The Passage runs a Modern Slavery Service and publishes a toolkit so councils and frontline teams can spot and support survivors. Staff say trafficking can push people into homelessness and also target those already rough sleeping.
If you’ve heard of Homewards, this is where it fits. Prince William’s five-year programme works with six locations-from Aberdeen to Sheffield and Lambeth-to make homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated by 2028, moving into delivery during 2025. A recent strand partners with recruitment firm Hays to widen routes into jobs and training.
Media literacy check. What’s confirmed on the record? Kensington Palace said it mattered to share this volunteering experience; images show father and son in the kitchen and laying tables; outlets including Reuters and People verified the visit and the book-signing detail. When you read royal stories, look for named sources and clear dates.
If you’re discussing this at home or in class, try simple, specific questions: What counts as emergency help in your town? What stops someone losing their home in the first place? Which services feel hardest to access for young people? Keeping questions practical keeps the focus on people, not titles.
A final note on language for all of us. Say people experiencing homelessness, not the homeless. That small shift reminds us this is a situation, not an identity-and that with stable housing, money advice, health support and work opportunities, people can and do move on.