Prince George follows Diana by serving Christmas dinner to homeless

Young royal visits London shelter 32 years after his grandmother brought Prince William

Prince George has followed his grandmother Diana’s footsteps to serve Christmas dinner to the homeless.

The Prince, 12, visited the London shelter 32 years after the young Prince William went there with Diana.

George was said to have got “stuck in” to his working shift at The Passage, preparing meals, setting the tables and decorating a Christmas tree.

Signing the guest book – the first time the schoolboy has done so in the line of official duty – he added his name on the same page as Prince William and Diana, Princess of Wales, who famously visited in 1993.

Prince William has spoken extensively about the importance of his mother introducing him to homeless shelters, and has worked with The Passage ever since.

He became its patron in 2019, and has previously said he wanted to take his own children when they were old enough.

Mick Clarke, the chief executive of The Passage who welcomed George, described the visit as “a proud dad moment” for Prince William and a chance to tell his elder son, “That’s my mum”.

The Prince of Wales introduced his elder son to Mr Clarke with the words: “This is the guy I was telling you about.”

Prince George is said to have been “fascinated” to see the names of his father and grandmother, saying “wow, OK” when asked to write his own name next to theirs.

Mr Clarke, who showed the schoolboy 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 them early support.

“I said, you know your dad’s been involved with The Passage for many, many years,” he said. “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.”

Prince George signed the visitor book on the same page that William and Diana entered their names  Credit: Andrew Parsons/Kensington Palace

Mr Clarke added: “I said, we’ve 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 George 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 included around 30 items including £10 vouchers for Greggs, the high street bakery, toiletries, socks and snack bars.

The young prince then helped to decorate a tree that had been donated to the charity from Westminster Abbey following his mother’s carol service there this month.

There was also an area where volunteers were decorating cupcakes for dessert. A volunteer had provided some Aston Villa crackers for the tables, a nod to the football team that Prince William supports.

William and George join head chef Claudette Dawkins and Mick Clarke, chief executive of The Passage, in the kitchen Credit: Andrew Parsons/Kensington Palace

Mr Clarke, who said George is a Villa fan too, admitted he was “mercilessly teased” by Prince William for supporting Tottenham, “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,” he added.

Prince William introduced Prince 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.

”I think it was Sarah that really spoke beautifully, where she said that Christmas is a time for family,” said Mr Clarke. “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.” He added: “Then we brought them into the kitchen and we set them to work.”

In the kitchen, Prince William was reunited with Claudette Dawkins, head chef at the shelter, who has featured in a homelessness documentary with him.

Mr Clarke said: “Again, that was 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.”

Diana, the Princess of Wales, with the young Prince William at the homeless shelter in 1993 Credit: Reuters

Prince William, Mr Clarke added, is “always very relaxed at The Passage”. “It always kind of feels like a family, really,” he said. “But it also, I think, shows how relaxed George was. And I think that was one of the nicest things.

”He clearly felt very comfortable and, you know, just really enjoyed cracking on and getting involved.

Mr Clarke said that George “wasn’t awkward” in the kitchen and while he “didn’t go into detail” about how he helps at home, gave the impression he does “bits and pieces” there too.

When it came to the visitors’ book, he said there was 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.

George joins his father in laying out tables at the shelter, with which William has enjoyed a longstanding relationship since visiting as a child Credit: Andrew Parsons/Kensington Palace

“And it felt a bit like a proud dad moment, I thought, which was really lovely to see, because William is incredibly genuine and authentic, passionate about this issue and loves the passage.

Mr Clarke added: “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.’”

Mr 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 Prince William and The Passage over “a couple of years” about how to introduce his elder son to the charity’s work.

Royals embrace shelter’s guests

Video of the visit, released by Kensington Palace, shows Prince George loading Yorkshire puddings on to a tray ready to cook.

Father and son, who both wore volunteer badges, are seen hugging guests, who have all experienced homelessness, and packing The Passage tote bags for people to take home.

In the footage, George, wearing casual clothes including a red quarter-zipped jumper, hangs baubles on the Christmas tree and sets the long tables with cutlery.

Prince William pours out Brussels sprouts ready to be boiled, and massages the shoulders of head chef Ms Dawkins.

George wrote his first name neatly in the guest book, dating it “16th December 2025”, underneath “William” and “Diana”, both on Dec14, 1993.

The visit did not appear in the Court Circular.