Prince William’s future as king already takes a hit as more than 40% Brits are against him

Prince William has long been an advocate for helping the homeless. After all, he’s a patron of many charities and has even launched a program which aims to demonstrate that it is possible to end homelessness. But perhaps the prince is being a bit too optimistic, as it turns out four in ten Brits don’t believe such a thing really is possible.

William’s Homeward initiative aims to prove that homelessness is not an inevitability. On the Royal Foundation website, it’s clear that the focus is on trying to prevent the problem, “[homelessness] continues to exist because we too often focus on managing the problem rather than working to prevent it.”

Not everyone thinks homelessness is preventable

A recent survey of the British public found that a large chunk of the population do not agree with William’s statement that homelessness is “not an inevitable part of life.” Considering he will one day, perhaps pretty soon, be the King of the U.K., it’s pretty discouraging to know that over 40% of the population are against him on this matter.

According to the Mirror, 44% of people either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “homelessness will always happen – it is not possible to prevent it, only to manage it.” Only 27% disagreed or strongly disagreed, while the rest answered neutrally, (neither agreeing or disagreeing).

The research was carried out by Ipsos for the Centre for Homelessness Impact, with 2,142 adults being surveyed. A majority (83%) do at least agree that homelessness is a major problem in the U.K., and 62% expressed beliefs that the problem will only continue to get worse.

So why don’t a large portion of the population think homelessness is preventable? Perhaps the public are just a lot less caring? Or maybe it’s more to do with these people being realists vs idealists? Prince William may have done his fair share in trying to help those less fortunate than him, attending charity events and making documentaries centered on the issue, but ordinary people might scoff at the idea of a privileged prince coming along and trying to tackle an issue he will never have any true understanding of.

Homelessness is an epidemic, and, unfortunately, it’s getting worse. According to U.K. charity, Shelter, there has been a 14% rise between 2023 and 2024 in people without homes. It’s estimated that there are about 354,000 people in the U.K. who are homeless right now, with almost 4,000 sleeping rough any given night. While William’s goals are admirable, could he simply be out of touch with the overwhelming reality of the situation?

The government has announced almost a billion in funding next year for English councils to help alleviate the problem of people sleeping rough. This will hopefully go a long way in helping manage the problem, but William’s arguably optimistic plan of preventing the issue seems like a pipe dream to most right now.