Prince George got ‘stuck in’ as he helped his father Prince William prepare Christmas lunches for the homeless at the same charity the Prince of Wales visited with his mother, Princess Diana, in 1993.
Making his first visit to The Passage, the homelessness charity supported by his father and late grandmother, George signed the same page of the visitor’s book where Diana and William added their names 32 years ago.
The young prince had the sweetest reaction to the moment and was left ‘fascinated’ by the moment, being heard to say: ‘Wow. Ok.’
Mick Clarke, chief executive of The Passage, welcomed Prince George, 12, and described the poignant visit as ‘a proud dad moment’ for William and a chance to tell his eldest son ‘that’s my mum’.
Mr Clarke said that William, who was brought to The Passage aged 11 by Diana, introduced him to George and told his son: ‘This is the guy I was telling you about.’
Clarke, who showed the young prince around the St Vincent’s centre in central London, told George about their No Night Out campaign, which aims to prevent someone from spending even one night on the streets by offering early support.
‘I said, you know, your dad’s been involved with The Passage for many, many years. Your grandma took him to The Passage when he was about your age.
‘And what you’re going to be doing today is helping us prepare for our Christmas lunch, which is a really important day because it’s for people who perhaps won’t have a place that they can call home this Christmas.
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Prince George got ‘stuck in’ as he helped his father Prince William prepare Christmas lunches for the homeless at the same charity the Prince of Wales visited with his mother
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Prince George was shown around the centre and helped to prepare Christmas lunches
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Princess Diana takes her son Prince William to visit The Passage for the first time in 1993
‘I said, we’ve just got a number of different things for you to help us with. So, time to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in.
‘He was well up for it. Absolutely. Very much like his dad in terms of he just wanted to crack on, which was lovely.’
Prince William first attended The Passage with his mother in 1993, but he and his brother Prince Harry were also both seen at the centre with Diana as boys.
William was photographed playing chess, lending a hand in the kitchen and holding wrapped Christmas presents when he visited the charity.
Earlier this week George followed in his father’s footsteps as he was shown to a room where he helped volunteers create care packages, which were later distributed to people unable to attend the lunch.
The packages contained around 30 items including £10 Greggs vouchers, toiletries, socks and snack bars.
The young prince then helped to decorate a tree which had been donated to the charity from Westminster Abbey following his mother’s carol service.
Clarke, who has met Catherine, Princess of Wales, before, said that there was a ‘nice synergy’ to the fact that George was now helping to decorate a tree from his mother’s service.
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The visitor book at the centre still has the page signed by Princess Dianna and Prince William in 1993 – Prince George added his name this week
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On a separate visit, Princess Diana took both her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, to The Passage where they met with service users and staff
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Prince William was photographed playing chess during one visit during his childhood
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Prince George grins as he visits The Passage in central London for the first time – and follows in the footsteps of his grandmother, Princess Diana
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William places a reassuring hand on his son’s shoulder as he introduces him to the charity he has supported for more than three decades
There was also an area where volunteers were decorating cupcakes for the pudding.
And in a touching gesture one volunteer had provided some Aston Villa crackers for the tables, the football team supported by William.
Clarke said: ‘George is a Villa fan. And, yeah, for my sins, I support Tottenham. So I was in no real position to joke about it.
‘I was mercilessly teased by the elder, by William, which tends to be a bit of a pattern. There is a lot of banter that goes on, which is great because I think he feels very, very relaxed here.’
William introduced George to Sarah and Brian, a couple who met through The Passage after both were helped to find homes after rough sleeping. Now engaged, they plan to marry and have a wedding reception at the charity.
Clarke said: ‘It was really poignant, actually, for William to introduce George to Brian and Sarah, you know, say, this is Brian, this is Sarah, I’ve known them for years. Brian, Sarah, can you tell the story of what this place means to you?
‘And they spoke so eloquently in terms of how, many years ago, they were in a very bad place.
‘But I think it was Sarah that really spoke beautifully where she said that Christmas is a time for family. We don’t have a family, so this is our family. And it was beautiful. And it was lovely just, you know, for George to listen and to have a chat.’
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Prince George got ‘stuck in’ and helped prep food for the charity’s Christmas lunch alongside his father
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Prince William helped with the Christmas lunch by preparing sprouts and placing them in a large container to be steamed
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The young prince helped to decorate a tree which had been donated to the charity from Westminster Abbey following his mother’s carol service
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The Prince of Wales and Prince George meet with Brain and Sarah, service users of The Passage in central London
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The Prince of Wales and Prince George with the CEO of The Passage Mick Clarke
He added: ‘Then we brought them into the kitchen and we set them to work.’
In the kitchen, William was reunited with Claudette Dawkins, head chef at The Shelter, who has featured in a homelessness documentary with the prince.
Clarke said: ‘Again, that was absolutely lots of banter. William was doing the sprouts, putting them into big trays because they were going to be steamed. George was doing Yorkshire puddings and things.
‘And there is a lovely image that captures myself, Claudette and the two of them. It’s just beautiful. And for me, it just shows how relaxed William is.
‘He’s always very relaxed at The Passage. It always kind of feels like a family, really. But it also, I think, shows how relaxed George was. They spent about 10, 15 minutes chatting with volunteers, but getting all the veg and stuff ready for the meal.’
Clarke said that George ‘wasn’t awkward’ in the kitchen and while he ‘didn’t go into detail’ about how he helps at home, Clarke got the impression that George does ‘bits and pieces’ there, too.
At the end of the visit, George and William signed the visitors’ book.
Although Clarke was not present at the Diana visit, he has worked with William for many years at the charity.
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One volunteer brought in Aston Villa Christmas crackers – the same team that Prince William avidly supports
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Prince George smiles as she shares a laugh with charity staff and volunteers
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The father and son were seen setting up long tables for service users at The Passage
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William and George were at The Passage for ‘around an hour’ during their visit on Tuesday before leaving to join the rest of the royal family for a Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace
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The duo also made up care packages for service users which contained around 30 items
He said: ‘We looked before and the page that I had from William’s very first visit with his mum. As you’ll see in the photo, it has Diana 1993, William 1993. And there was a gap, you know, kind of underneath it. And so we’d asked William, do you think George would like to sign this?
‘And he was like, yeah, that would be great. So that was really lovely because it was also a lovely moment where William was able to say to George “That’s my mum. And this was the very first day that she took me to The Passage”. And it was a lovely moment in terms of almost coming full circle from 1993 to the end of 2025.
‘And it felt a bit like a proud dad moment, I thought, which was really, really lovely to see, because William is incredibly genuine and authentic, passionate about this issue and loves the passage.
‘And it just really felt that he was really proud to say, look, this is a place that I’m passionate about. I’m really pleased to be able to share that with you and show it to you.
‘He [George] was fascinated with it. He was like, “Wow. OK”.’
Clarke said that William and George were at The Passage for ‘around an hour’ during their visit on Tuesday before leaving to join the rest of the royal family for a Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.
He said that the visit with Prince George followed talks with William and The Passage over ‘a couple of years’ about how to introduce his eldest son to the charity’s work.
Clarke said: ‘One of the nice things is it’s very much like any family really in terms of it had to be the right time and feel right for them and, most importantly I think, feel right for George. So, you know, we talked over the last couple of years really in terms of that, you know, that’d be great to do.’
Posting on social media on Sunday, the Prince and Princess of Wales shared sweet snaps of Prince George at The Shelter, adding: ‘Introducing Prince George to The Passage — and Claudette!
‘A huge thank you to everyone for your incredible work throughout the year and for continuing to inspire a shared commitment to preventing and ending homelessness in the UK.’
While William and Kate’s younger two children were not mentioned during the visit, The Passage sent the princes away with three teddy bears, one for each child.
William later sent food hampers containing cakes and other items to be distributed to the residential centres.
