Prince William was on hand to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of a British organization called Centrepoint which provides housing and support for homeless youth between the ages of 16 and 25. But, Prince Wills took things a step further and decided to spend the night on the street to see what it is like for homeless people of any age to brave the cold UK nights:

A cold icy sidewalk isn’t where you would normally expect to find a sleeping British royal, but it is where Prince William spent the night to highlight the plight of the homeless. William, second in line to the British throne, spent a night near Blackfriars Bridge in central London last week in an event organized by homeless charity Centrepoint. “I cannot, after one night, even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough on London’s streets night after night,” Prince William said in a statement on the Charity’s Web site. Centrepoint’s CEO, Seyi Obakin also spent the night alongside the prince and said it was a difficult and dangerous experience. “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,” Obakin said. “One of the hairiest moments occurred when we were almost run over by a road sweeper which simply didn’t see our small group huddled together, which just goes to show how vulnerable rough sleepers are.” The group encountered temperatures that dipped to minus four degrees Celsius and slept in old sleeping bags, using cardboard boxes as shelter. “It was the coldest night we had in a very long time and once it was over I think the prince appreciated the fact that he, unlike many homeless young people, could go home to a warm place,” Stuart Rogers, chief resources officer for Centrepoint told CNN. “He didn’t look his usual self given that he just spent the night outdoors and in rough clothes, but he didn’t look too bad.”

I cannot tell you how impressed I continue to be with Prince William‘s charity work. He could’ve very easily helped Centrepoint celebrate their anniversary and called it a day. For him to actually spend the night on the street to see what homeless people endure every single night is pretty remarkable. As a member of the British Royal Family, Wills will never really have to endure circumstances like this in his lifetime … but his willingness to try and get a sense of what the less fortunate endure is pretty admirable. If you would like to help out in any way you can, you can get more information on Centrepoint HERE. If Prince Wills can go out of his way to help, I can’t see why anyone else couldn’t do the same.

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