PRINCE George followed in Princess Diana’s footsteps as he helped serve up Christmas dinner to homeless people.
The 12-year-old future King wore an apron as was guided throughout on his first visit to a homeless shelter by dad Prince William.
Princess Diana took Wills to The Passage homeless charity when he was 11-years-old in 1993 – inspiring a lifelong campaign to help end rough sleeping.
Young George even added his name to the visitor’s book on the same page where his father and grandmother signed, and said: “Wow.”
William has been patron of the charity based at St Vincent’s Centre, Westminster, since 2019.
But on his first trip – echoing that of Di and Wills 32-years-ago – George “rolled up his sleeves” and helped put together food packages, laid the festive table, decorated a Christmas tree and prepared Yorkshire puddings.
A spokesman for William said he felt it was “important” to share the work at The Passage with George.
Mick Clarke, chief executive of The Passage, described the visit this week as “a proud dad moment” for William and a chance to tell his eldest son “That’s my mum”.
Speaking after Tuesday’s visit, Mick said: Mr Clarke said: “We looked before and the page that I had from William’s very first visit with his mum.
“As you’ll see in the photo, it has Diana 1993, William 1993.
“And there was a gap, you know, kind of underneath it. And so we’d asked William in terms of, do you think George would like to sign this?
“And he was like, yeah, that would be great. So that was really lovely because it was also a lovely moment where William was able to say to George ‘That’s my mum. And this was the very first day that she took me to the passage’.
“And it was a lovely moment in terms of almost coming full circle from 1993 to the end of 2025.
“And it felt a bit like a proud dad moment, I thought, which was really, really lovely to see, because William is incredibly genuine and authentic, passionate about this issue and loves the passage.
“And it just really felt that he was really proud to say, look, this is a place that I’m passionate about.
“I’m really pleased to be able to share that with you and show it to you.
“He [George] was fascinated with it. He was like, “Wow. OK”.”
George first joined volunteers making care packages for homeless visitors including £10 vouchers for Greggs, toiletries, socks and snack bars.
They were later handed to homeless people who attended the lunch.
The young prince then helped to decorate a tree which had been donated to the charity from Westminster Abbey from Kate’s Together at Christmas carol concert.
Speaking after the visit Mick said: “I said, you know, your dad’s been involved with the passage for many, many years.
“Your grandma took him to the passage when he was about your age. And what you’re going to be doing today is helping us prepare for our Christmas lunch, which is a really important day because it’s for people who perhaps won’t have a place that they can call home this Christmas.
“I said, we’ve just got a number of different things for you to help us with. So, time to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in.
“He was well up for it. Absolutely. Very much like his dad in terms of he just wanted to crack on, which was lovely.”
CUPCAKE DECORATING
George also helped volunteers decorate cupcakes for the pudding.
And tended Yorkshire puddings while William was on Brussels Sprout duty.
One cheeky volunteer had provided some Aston Villa crackers for the tables, the football team supported by William.
And Mick Clarke said: “George is a Villa fan. And, yeah, for my sins, I support Tottenham. So I was in no real position to joke about it. I was mercilessly teased by the elder, by William, which tends to be a bit of a pattern.
“There is a lot of banter that goes on, which is great because I think he feels very, very relaxed here.”
Wills has taken George to several Aston Villa games but says it’s up to his son to choose which team he supports.
William introduced George to Sarah and Brian, a couple who met through The Passage.
They were helped to find homes after rough sleeping and are now engaged with the wedding reception planned at the charity HQ.
Mr Clarke said “It was really poignant, actually, for William to introduce George to Brian and Sarah, you know, say, this is Brian, this is Sarah, I’ve known them for years. Brian, Sarah, can you tell the story of what this place means to you? Why is this place so precious to you?
“And they spoke so eloquently in terms of about how, you know, many years ago, they were in a very bad place.
“But I think it was Sarah that really spoke beautifully where she said that Christmas is a time for family.
“We don’t have a family, so this is our family. And it was beautiful. And it was lovely just, you know, for George to listen and to have a chat.”
He added: “Then we brought them into the kitchen and we set them to work.”
In the kitchen, William was delighted to be reunited with Claudette Dawkins, head chef at The Shelter, who has featured in ITV documentary ‘Prince William: We Can End Homelessness“.
Mr Clarke said: “Again, that was absolutely lots of banter. William was doing the sprouts, putting them into big trays because they were going to be steamed.
“George was doing Yorkshire puddings and things. And there is a lovely image that captures myself, Claudette and the two of them. It’s just beautiful. And for me, it just shows how relaxed William is.
“He’s always very relaxed at the passage. It always kind of feels like a family, really. But it also, I think, shows how relaxed George was. And I think that was one of the nicest things.
“He clearly felt very comfortable and, you know, just really enjoyed cracking on and getting involved.
“So they spent about 10, 15 minutes, you know, again, chatting with volunteers, but, you know, getting all the veg and stuff ready for the meal.”
Clarke said that George “wasn’t awkward” in the kitchen and while he “didn’t go into detail” about how he helps at home, Clarke got the impression that George does “bits and pieces” there, too.
At the end of the visit, son and father signed the visitors’ book on the same page as William’s first trip with Diana in 1993.
CHRISTMAS LUNCH
William and George were at The Passage for around an hour during their visit on Tuesday before leaving to join the rest of the royal family for a Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.
The visit with Prince George followed talks with William and The Passage over “a couple of years” about how to introduce his eldest son to the charity’s work, it is understood.
William has previously spoken about telling his children about rough sleepers when they see them on the school run.
The Prince of Wales runs Homewards, a scheme that aims to end rough sleeping.
Mr Clarke said: “One of the nice things is it’s very much like any family really in terms of it had to be the right time and feel right for them and, most importantly I think, feel right for George. So, you know, we talked over the last couple of years really in terms of that, you know, that’d be great to do.”
A Kensington Palace spokesperson said: “It was important to The Prince of Wales to share with Prince George the work of The Passage and to spend time volunteering alongside the team.
“They both greatly enjoyed meeting staff, volunteers and service users as well as learning more about the charity’s work. The dedication shown not only by The Passage but by organisations across the homelessness sector, at Christmas and throughout the year, is invaluable.”
The Passage sent the princes away with three teddy bears, one for George, Charlotte and Louis.
William later sent food hampers containing cakes and other items to be distributed to the residential centres, it is understood.
