Prince William Shares Emotional Embrace With Elderly During Charity Visit

Prince William slipped into an apron, helped served lunch, and shared a few laughs and hugs during a recent visit to The Passage, a charity in Westminster, London that helps end homelessness throughout the U.K.

The Prince of Wales talked about his visit during the hub's client Christmas party in an Instagram post on Tuesday, in which he also shared a series of photos. A couple of pictures showed him talking to those working at the kitchen and to the other guests.

Meanwhile, some showed him being tactile with the guests at the party. He shared hugs and shoulder pats, shook their hands and posed for photos with them. At one point, he was pictured with his eyes closed as he shared an emotional embrace with an elderly woman.

"A pleasure to join volunteers serving Christmas lunch at @passagecharity yesterday. The Passage's Resource Centre supports an average of 100 individuals a day whilst their new project, No Night Out, is reframing homelessness as a public health issue, helping people into emergency hotel accommodation," Prince William wrote adding: "Together we can end homelessness. @homewardsuk."

Prince William has been patron of The Passage since 2019. He has been familiar with the charity since childhood, when Princess Diana, who also previously served as patron, would bring him and his brother, Prince Harry, along for visits.

The Passage also shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the Prince of Wales' visit with a video posted on its Instagram page. The charity thanked the royal for taking the time to visit and chat with the guests.

"Yesterday our Resource Centre doors opened for our client Christmas party, and what fun we had!🎄A special thank you to our Royal Patron, Prince William who joined us to prepare and serve food, and meet with those we support," the charity wrote.

The Passage added: "It was a wonderful opportunity for our clients to come together over a tasty Christmas lunch and speak to the Prince of Wales about their experiences and time here at The Passage."

Ending homelessness in the U.K. is one of Prince William's key focus and the reason he launched his Homewards initiative through the Royal Foundation. He said during the time of the launch at the Mosaic Clubhouse charity in June that the project is inspired by his visits to homeless shelters as a child with Princess Diana, which he said "left a deep and lasting impression".

He shared: "I met so many extraordinary people and listened to so many heart-breaking personal stories. Too many people have found themselves without a stable and permanent place to call home."

The Homewards campaign is offering $3.8 million to six different locations across the U.K. as startup money for an ambitious plan to reduce homelessness through the next five years.

He said in a statement shared during the launch: "Through Homewards, I want to make this a reality and over the next five years, give people across the UK hope that homelessness can be prevented when we collaborate."

He added: "I am very much looking forward to working with our six locations to make our ambition a reality."

The campaign on its website is described as a "transformative five-year, locally led programme that will aim to demonstrate that together it's possible to end homelessness – making it rare, brief and unrepeated".

Homewards may just be a five-year plan, but Prince William is in it for the long haul. His spokesperson said at the time of the launch that it is "something that means so much to him" as such "he has been across every detail" of the project. The Prince of Wales will reportedly be involved in every location.