Prince sleeps with paupers

2009-12-22 17:12

London - Britain's Prince William bedded down for the night in freezing temperatures under a London bridge to help the cause of a leading homeless charity of which he is a patron, the royal palace said on Tuesday.

The prince, 27, put down his sleeping bag on cardboard boxes in an alleyway under Blackfriar's Bridge on December 15, a night when temperatures dropped to -4C, the charity Centrepoint said.

The prince, second-in-line to the throne, was accompanied by his private secretary, ex-soldier Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, and Seyi Obakin, the charity's chief executive.

Obakin, who had challenged the prince to experience homelessness for one night, said he did not think the royal army officer would pick up the gauntlet. William took over the patronage a year ago, following in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana, who also championed the charity's cause.

"For me, it was a scary experience. Out of my comfortable bed. Out there in the elements, out there on an extremely cold night... And it was the same for Prince William," Obakin wrote on the organisation's website.

Determined

"But he (William) was determined to do it as patron in order to raise awareness of the problem and to be able to understand a little better what rough sleepers go through night after night."

A grainy photograph released by the charity shows the prince, dressed in jeans, trainers, a hooded top and a woolly hat, is seen standing next to Obakin with their "bedding" at their feet.

"We took as much precaution as possible - finding a relatively secluded spot in an alleyway, shielded partly by a collection of wheelie bins," wrote Obakin.

"But there was no shielding from the bitter cold, or the hard concrete floor, or the fear of being accosted by drug dealers, pimps or those out to give homeless people a 'good kicking'," he added.

According to Obakin, one of the "hairiest moments" occurred when the trio were nearly run over by a road sweeper which hadn't seen them.

"I have never been happier to welcome the break of dawn," wrote Obakin.

After waking at 06:00 GMT, the trio toured some of the streets in London's Westend where the prince could set eyes on the many "invisible" men and women who slept rough in the centre of London, said Obakin.

Experience

A spokesperson for St James's Palace said the trio got little sleep and dozed for short periods during their time in the alleyway.

"Prince William took away from the experience the importance of tackling all the issues that cause people to be homeless and stay homeless, from drug dependency to mental health problems," he said.

The charity said it was "enormously grateful" to Prince William for backing Centrepoint's fight to "to bring an end to youth homelessness".

- SAPA