By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-06 06:51:17 | Updated at 2024-12-22 16:44:38
2 weeks ago
Prince William made a secret visit to serve up Christmas dinner at a charity for the homeless today - and was described by one of those he met as a ‘legend’.
Leo Scanlon, 39, who is himself a client of The Passage in London, said the future king spent more than an hour serving up vegetables wearing an apron, chatting and posing for selfies with around a hundred people being helped by the charity.
Although the visit was not announced in advance and there were no members of the media present, Leo got in touch with the Daily Mail because he wanted to ‘thank William from the bottom of my heart for what he did’.
He said: ‘When you are homeless you fall to the edge of society quickly and it’s scary how you can become invisible. We become street furniture. You aren’t seen as a person. When you have someone at the top of the game coming down and talking to someone at the bottom, not for a photo opportunity, just because they care. Well, it means a lot.’
Leo said there had been ‘whispers’ that prince might come to the annual Christmas lunch for The Passage, a charity he was first introduced to by his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales as a child and now is patron of.
But he said the royal arrived without fanfare, walking quietly through a side gate, at around 1.30pm and many didn’t realise he was there until he started serving.
‘The Passage canteen can be quite hostile environment sometimes, there are lot of people with mental health issues, or who don’t speak any English and get frustrated. It’s quite hard in a small space. But the way he dealt with it all when he came in was amazing,’ he said.
‘He was so kind and so polite and spoke to everyone and posed for selfies.
‘When I spoke to him I was so overwhelmed I accidentally swore and he put his ear to my mouth and whispered ‘don’t worry, my language is terrible!’ .’
On Thursday, William, 42, returned to The Passage - which he first visited with his mother Princess Diana when he was 11 - to take part in the charity's annual Christmas meal for a second year running
Pictures obtained by the Mail showed the Prince of Wales carefully piling roast vegetables on to plates during his hour-long service at the Westminster-based charity that holds a special place in his heart
Prince William became a patron of The Passage in February 2019, after first visiting the charity in 1993 with his mother, Princess Diana
Leo said he told William he wore his favourite Spice Girls t-shirt for him as he had met Victoria Beckham at the State Banquet the other day, which made him laugh.
‘He chatted to everyone and told them Merry Christmas and to look after them and stay safe,’ he said.
‘People just walked up and chatted to him and he was absolutely fine. People were calling him William and he had no airs and graces. He’s got a power to him. A bomb could have gone off in the corner and he wouldn’t have notice. He just looked you in the eye and you had his full attention. He listened and was really respectful. He really meant it.
‘There were police there but not really on duty, they weren’t marshalling everyone. It was very relaxed.
‘Prince William was serving up the food. They put him on boring vegetables and I'm sure the did that so we all ate our veg!
‘A guy with face tattoos tried to speak to him while the prince was dishing up his food and the guy got moved on so the next person could get theirs, but William realised he wanted to talk to him. So when he finished serving us our food, he stopped what he was doing and tried to look for the man with the face tattoo, but he had gone out for a fag so the Prince carried on what he was doing but kept looking for him.
‘The staff were trying to get the prince to move onto the next thing, but William would not go until he got to sit down and talk with this guy with face tattoos
‘The way Prince William spoke to all of us, but especially this man, meant a lot and it was so genuine. He was not doing for picture opportunity to look good, he genuinely cared what the guy had to say.’
In what is becoming a holiday ritual, the father-of-three also made a surprise appearance at The Passage's Christmas party last December
Father-of-three William appeared deep in conversation with one of the guests at the Christmas meal in 2023
A young Prince William pictured beaming alongside his mother Princess Diana during their visit to The Passage in 1993
The images were included in a new ITV documentary Prince William: We Can End Homelessness that was released in October
Asked why he decided to speak to the Mail and share his pictures, Leo said: ‘I feel I wanted it to be noted by someone like you how genuine, how lovely he was, and how Prince William was so kind and seemed genuinely interested to talk to all of.
‘I didn’t know if it was even worth emailing you but I felt like I wanted people to know when he says he's committed to ending homelessness, I truly believe him and think he's got the best chance of anyone to get it done.’
The prince is one year into a five-year programme, named Homewards, to eradicate homelessness in six key areas across the UK with a hope that it will provide a blueprint nationwide.
In a recent television documentary on the issue, the royal - who has made clear that the issue is a life-long project for him - said: ‘Why else would I be here if I'm not using this role properly to influence and help people where I can?’
