It was a significant moment for Prince William this week as he met young people given shelter from sleeping rough in London at a reception for charity Centrepoint. The organisation is a cause close to his heart as his mother Princess Diana was also involved with it.
"I remember my mother taking myself and Harry to visit it when we were children," said the second-in-line to the throne. "I was much younger, better looking and naïve then, but it helped to open my eyes to the world so many young London people face." Diana was patron of the charity - which celebrated its 40th anniversary this week - from 1992 to 1997.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that a key member of Prince William's private office is leaving his post. Geoffrey Matthews was acting as a project manager for both William and Harry's charity endeavours and one of his roles was chief executive of Sentebale - the AIDS charity Prince Harry set up in the name of their mother. He was also responsible for organising last summer's Diana memorial concert.
The move is a result of William's decision to become an RAF search and rescue pilot in January instead of becoming a full-time working member of the royal family. "Following William's announcement... it became clear that certain projects with which Geoffrey Matthews would have been involved had been postponed. There is simply not going to be enough for (him) to do," a Clarence House spokesman confirmed.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
