Prince William visits Sheffield after footage emerges of farm shop trip with Kate
The Prince of Wales spoke about homelessness, hours after a video emerged of him at a farm shop with the Princess of Wales
Last updated 19th Mar 2024
The Prince of Wales has been seen in Sheffield, just hours after footage emerged of him with Princess Kate at a farm shop in Windsor.
The video is the first of her since her abdominal surgery, and shows the couple out in public at the weekend.
Kate's absence from public life, following abdominal surgery on January 16, has led to wild conspiracy theories on social media about her whereabouts and health.
Details of her condition have not been disclosed but Kensington Palace previously said it was not cancer-related and that Kate wished her personal medical information to remain private.
Questions about the Princess's condition were off-limits during today's visits, but crowds shouted their well-wishes towards the Prince.
But he did mention his wife to officials, telling them homelessness was her "territory" and joking she should be "sat here" with him.
He smiled and waved at crowds as he left.
Prince talks about ending homelessness on visit
Prince William has joined families who have experienced homelessness in Sheffield and spoken to DIY retailers about plans to end the problem.
The Prince of Wales visited one of six locations for his Homewards initiative, speaking to community representatives and grassroots organisations taking part in a workshop to help design the city's new housing project.
The future king unveiled Homebase's pledge of £1 million of support in the form of up to 1,500 home starter packs, which could include paint, furniture, flooring and furnishings to help tenants turn a property into a home.
The packs from the retailer, an official Homewards supporter, will be provided to the housing projects created in Homewards' six flagship areas launched by William last year, and a further Duchy of Cornwall development.
The event took place at a community space called The Learning Zone in north-east Sheffield and attended by Damian McGloughlin, Homebase's chief executive officer.
He said: "At Homebase, we know how important it is to have a place to call home, and we're committed to co-producing home starter packs with the people who will be using them.
"Over the next five years, we'll help end the cycle of homelessness by supporting a fresh start with a fresh lick of paint, and all their home needs."
William also sat down with local landlords to discuss their support for ending homelessness among families - a growing issue in the city - and heard about the housing commitments they are making to support the programme.
A group of landlords including Keystone Property Group, Places for People, Letzmove, My Landlord Cares and Arches Housing has pledged more than 30 three and four-bedroom properties for families on the brink of losing their homes.
Homewards wants to focus on unlocking more affordable, long-term family homes from across the rented sector in Sheffield to help families who may be struggling to find a permanent place to live.
Each Homewards location will deliver its own housing project over five years, designed to meet local needs to tackle homelessness and test new ways to unlock homes at scale, both within their area and beyond.
The six areas are Newport, South Wales, three neighbouring Dorset towns - Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch, the south London Borough of Lambeth, Belfast, Aberdeen and Sheffield.
Later in the day William visited the city centre for a meeting of the Homewards Sheffield Local Coalition, which over the past nine months has been working to create an action plan to tackle the housing issues facing the city.
The group discussed the project's impact and its next steps forward.