Blink and you might have missed him, but the Prince of Wales has been out on the streets helping sell the latest edition of Big Issues magazine with his friend, Dave.
Kensington Palace shared a snap of the two together with the caption: “Great to be back with Dave, selling the latest edition of the @BigIssue once again!” as the prince was found outside Tesco in Hammersmith selling with his friend. And the prince encouraged others to get a copy of the magazine, sharing the link to the official list of sellers from the Big Issue website.
In June 2022, ahead of his 40th birthday, William joined Dave to help sell copies of Big Issue and later wrote about that decision for the magazine, writing that: “I wanted to experience the other side and see what it was like to be a Big Issue vendor. My time was truly eye opening. I was lucky to join Dave on a warm, sunny day in June. People recognised a familiar face and were happy to give me the time of day. But that isn’t the case for the vast majority of Big Issue vendors, who sell year-round–including through the bleak winter months–and are barely given a second glance by passers-by.”
Of Dave, he wrote: “A hardworking, funny, joyful man, Dave is the kind of person we should all be actively encouraging and supporting. Instead, people often just ignore him.”
Dave would later recall in his own interview that William “was very laid back. He’s obviously done lots of interviews before. It’s like me when I do interviews, people say to me ‘you’re a natural’ and he seemed to be like that, a natural. He wasn’t overawed by people coming up. He was friendly and chatty.”
The pair talked for the June 2022 edition of Big Issue about how to stop homelessness, with William asking for tips and advice.
This past summer, William launched Homewards, a five-year pilot project aimed at reducing or eliminating homelessness in five areas of the United Kingdom. He’s made it a point to continue working with Big Issue ever since.
You can find your nearest Big Issue vendor or order online at their website.
