Latest news with #HomewardsInitiative
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Remembering Princess Diana as Prince William is set to celebrate his mom's 64th birthday
With Prince William getting ready to celebrate what would have been his mother, Princess Diana's 64th birthday on 1 July, the world once again focuses its attention on the most beloved Royal of all time. On July 1, Prince William honors Princess Diana's legacy on her 64th birthday.(AP ) Princess Diana would have turned 64 this year, and though she passed away tragically in 1997, her legacy as the 'People's Princess' remains powerful. In the same year, she was all over the news walking across a live landmine field in Angola. Diana was changing the image of what royalty could be, even in her last year. Her last birthday, on 1 July 1997, was a quiet affair, just a month before her death. Divorced from Prince Charles, Diana was in the midst of rebuilding her life. She attended a charity gala at London's Tate Gallery wearing a dazzling black beaded gown gifted by designer Jacques Azagury and received more than 90 bouquets of flowers. ALSO READ| Prince William to celebrate Princess Diana's birthday today with special plans Throughout her life, Princess Diana was known for moments that made headlines In 1995, she gave a now-famous BBC Panorama interview, breaking royal protocol to share her personal struggles, the same aura Prince Harry later absorbed. Just a year earlier, she stunned the world in 'the Revenge Dress,' a daring black number worn the same night Prince Charles publicly admitted to infidelity. Perhaps the most heartbreaking image of her time as a royal remains the shot of her sitting alone at the Taj Mahal in India, a symbol of love, while then Prince Charles conducted royal duties elsewhere. When asked about his wife, he simply replied: 'Work it out for yourself.' ALSO READ| Prince William cuts ties with woman who offered $27,000 meetings with him Prince William poised to follow his mom's path On July 1, Prince William will meet with representatives from the six UK regions involved in Homewards' pilot efforts: Sheffield, Newport in South Wales, Aberdeen in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and Lambeth in London for the non-profit, the Homewards Initiative, which aims to eliminate homelessness across the UK by 2028.. 'Your experiences are what makes Homewards unique and powerful. We can harness our collective capabilities, expertise, and resources towards this common cause. I am immensely proud to say that your collective effort has already allowed us to achieve lasting impact,' Prince of Wales shared in an open letter. 'I am confident we can lead and inspire understanding, empathy, and optimism that homelessness can be ended,' he added. 'Focus is also important, and you have identified the groups particularly at risk of homelessness in your locations to drive solutions that show it is possible to prevent their homelessness.' ALSO READ| Prince Harry has chalked out a plan to return to the Royal fold, insiders say it's 'never happening' 'While visiting the six locations, I have been inspired by the motivation, creativity, and expertise that is embodied in each location and the tangible difference you are making for some of society's most vulnerable,' William wrote.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Prince William to celebrate Princess Diana's birthday today with special plans
Prince William is set to honor his late mother Princess Diana's philanthropic legacy by setting out a major progressive milestone for his non-profit organization, the Homewards Initiative on July 1. The date would have been the former Princess of Wales' 64th birthday and marks the second anniversary of the project. The initiative aims to be on the path to eliminating homelessness by 2028. Prince William has special plans to mark Princess Diana's birthday. (File/ AP) The Prince of Wales will begin the day by meeting with representatives of all six UK regions (Sheffield, Newport in South Wales, Aberdeen in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Lambeth in London) picked as pilot test areas for the projects. This will be followed by a visit to a Sheffield school to witness the impact of an intervention model called 'Upstream' which aims to detect people at risk of homelessness and offer them premature support. The model is based on the Geelong Project in Australia. The day will mark some of the first residents moving into and officially being beneficiaries of Sheffield's Innovative Housing project. Prince William's open letter Ahead of his planned visit on July 1, the prince recently shared an open letter addressed to representatives of the six pilot test regions by writing, 'Your experiences are what makes Homewards unique and powerful. We can harness our collective capabilities, expertise, and resources towards this common cause. I am immensely proud to say that your collective effort has already allowed us to achieve lasting impact." "I am confident we can lead and inspire understanding, empathy, and optimism that homelessness can be ended," he added. 'Focus is also important, and you have identified the groups particularly at risk of homelessness in your locations to drive solutions that show it is possible to prevent their homelessness.' "While visiting the six locations, I have been inspired by the motivation, creativity, and expertise that is embodied in each location and the tangible difference you are making for some of society's most vulnerable,' he wrote. He signed off the letter by writing, 'Keep going!' What is the Homewards Initiative? Launched in 2023, the Homewards Initiative is an effort undertaken by Prince William and The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales which aims 'to demonstrate that it's possible to end homelessness – making it rare, brief, and unrepeated'. According to its official website, it is 'a transformative 5-year program, locally-led in 6 flagship locations around the UK, providing up to £500,000 of funding for each location, bringing together dozens of partner organizations, from frontline homelessness charities to big businesses and employing a local Homewards lead for each location.' The cause is inspired by shelter visits undertaken by the prince along with his brother Prince Harry during their mother's noted charitable efforts and hence holds a deep personal relevance for him. The initiative recently secured a financial investment of $500 million from Lloyds Bank to support the effort of constructing about 100 affordable housing projects across six regions. 'During my time at Shelter — and before — we have seen other joined-up initiatives that have sought to tackle homelessness and those have been valuable. But they have, in the main, focused on crisis intervention. We need to get out of this idea that crisis intervention is going to end homelessness. That's because the primary causes of homelessness are systemic,' said Polly Neate, former CEO of U.K. charities Shelter and Women's Aid, to PEOPLE. 'Having somebody like Prince William being very clear that it is possible to prevent homelessness, it is possible to end it, is hugely impactful and we are already seeing that,' she adds. By Stuti Gupta
