Prince William's latest campaign may invite awkwardness with ...

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Good morning. Part of Queen Elizabeth II’s great success was that she succeeded in making the monarchy appear to be above politics, when, of course, the questions surrounding whether we should have a constitutional monarchy, the Crown’s privileges and its role in our system are all inherently political.

Part of that success was King Charles III’s, too. Given that all things being equal the monarch of the day is going to spend a long time as heir in the modern era, they have to find something to do with their time that doesn’t invite too many awkward questions. Has Prince William chosen his? Some thoughts on why his priority of ending homelessness looks risky to me.

Prince William’s aim to eradicate homelessness in the UK is a worthy one, and you can see how it makes sense from a regal perspective, because there isn’t an explicit “pro-homelessness” caucus in British politics. (Or indeed in politics anywhere.)

So even if you are as remorselessly cynical as I am, you can see the attraction of working to end homelessness if you are the heir to the throne. It’s a popular aim and not one that is going to make you too many enemies. His charitable foundation will donate £3mn towards a five-year project that aims to give six towns and cities the resources to help find places to live for homeless people locally.

There’s an important “but” here, though, which is this: we already have a pretty good idea of what it takes to end homelessness. Boris Johnson essentially managed it during the pandemic with the “Everyone In” initiative and by the end of the last Labour government they had got pretty close to ending it too.

Yes, there are some tricky pockets involving complex mental health needs and other overlapping social crises, but these drive a comparatively small number of cases of homelessness. So why do we still have homelessness in the UK? The answer is that the present government would rather spend its money and time doing other things. (And I suspect that for a variety of reasons, so too will the next Labour government.)

One risk to the Prince of Wales, I think, is that instead of doing something that everyone agrees with but we aren’t sure how best to do — encouraging young people to set up businesses, say, or to enjoy exercise, or get out in the fresh air — he is instead doing something that everyone agrees with but that governments are historically reluctant to fund.

His campaign surely increases the possibility for awkwardness between the heir to the throne and the elected government, regardless of its hue, just as similar campaigns have heightened tensions between the government and the Church of England in recent years.

I went to see The Eight Mountains, a brilliant and beautiful film about growing up, family, and loss. Nicolas Rapold’s review is here. Try to see it if you can.