Prince William selling the Big Issue

I believe that selling the BI means you can claim to be self employed and are then entitled to Working Tax Credits etc. Just a con IMHO to enable the pocketing of tax payers money for the great contribution to the economy of hanging around for a few hours.

I’m happy to be corrected if I’m wrong?

Form an orderly queue ladies...

He was 'spotted' ?

In this era of social media, I'm afraid the Royals cannot rely on media spin doctors to help craft good PR campaigns anymore. People are able to draw their own conclusions, and I reckon that partly reflects why younger people are disenchanted with Monarchy than older people

Next is Edward helping in Nando's and Andy in Pizza Express.

That’s a very unpleasant post Urms. Would you want to stand around in all weathers advertising your unfortunate position in society for a few quid?

Poor William - when his mother took him to see homeless people she was praised for her ‘common’ touch teaching him about the underprivileged. How things can be spun eh?

I don't remember that Pantglas.

Did she disguise herself as a disadvantaged person and accidentally get spotted by someone who just happened to take her picture for the press?

As if! Never one to pass up an opportunity to get photographed.

PR stunt. Everyone knows that after how ever long he stood outside pretending to be a Big Issue seller, he would be whisked back home to his life of luxury. Sleeping rough for a night, selling magazines on the street etc., does not mean a thing if the person goes back to their easy life. If I want to support a charity (I support Centre Point) I give them money. I don’t curl up on a pavement for a night.

Ladyleftfieldlover

PR stunt. Everyone knows that after how ever long he stood outside pretending to be a Big Issue seller, he would be whisked back home to his life of luxury. Sleeping rough for a night, selling magazines on the street etc., does not mean a thing if the person goes back to their easy life. If I want to support a charity (I support Centre Point) I give them money. I don’t curl up on a pavement for a night.

The sleep outs are to publicise the amount of homeless on the streets.

Lots of people are sponsored for sleeping out and the money goes to homeless charities.

It may or may not have been a PR stunt. However, it has resulted in people talking about the homeless, which was probably the aim.
I seem to remember that William was taken to see disadvantaged people when he was young, and that would still resonate with him.

Centrepoint was the one she visited with William when he was a boy to educate him that not everyone was as fortunate as him.

Looks like Lady Bountiful to some and to others, not so much. It’s all in the optics as they say...

As for the Big Issue, we have a roma lady who sells it outside the local Co-Op, it is becoming obvious to us locals that she is only there when the weather is inclement, raining or freezing she has never been there on a mild or sunny day in the last 15+ years.

I and others wonder where she is in clement weather ?

Antonia

It may or may not have been a PR stunt. However, it has resulted in people talking about the homeless, which was probably the aim.
I seem to remember that William was taken to see disadvantaged people when he was young, and that would still resonate with him.

If its wasn't a PR stunt, what was it?

Germanshepherdsmum

He’s patron of a charity for the homeless.

Yes. I'm sure he supports them a lot, probably financially too, without all the fanfare this photo seems to have generated.

His mother introduced him to the plight of the homeless when he was a young boy.

Antonia

It may or may not have been a PR stunt. However, it has resulted in people talking about the homeless, which was probably the aim.
I seem to remember that William was taken to see disadvantaged people when he was young, and that would still resonate with him.

X post, Antonia

I don't know whether the Big Issue photo was a PR stunt or not. What I do know is that Prince William's recent visit to Deborah James' garden to make her a Dame was an impromptu, unplanned meeting at which he had afternoon tea and chatted with all her family. No PR stunt.
Even though he was whisked back to his life of luxury, on that occasion -with a 40 year old wife of his own and 3 children - I bet he was thinking "there but for the grace of God go I."

Shock!
Tony Blair was forced to sleep rough on a park bench

One guest at the function recounted to the newspaper how the room was shocked by the surprise anecdote.

[Cherie Blair] said the charity was very close to Tony's heart because he was forced to sleep rough on a park bench when he first came to London.

We just couldn't believe what we were hearing. Can you imagine that the prime minister used to sleep rough on a bench?" she asked

He slept on a park bench for one night before he sorted out accommodation.

Prince William is patron of @centrepointuk

What a post Umstrongran anything to have a dig at anyone not born here no problem whether it’s facts or just a load of old bile

Urmstongran

Thought the weekend went well, surprised Kate's kicked him out.

?

Charities often seem to think that a Royal patron will visit them, or enable events at palaces which they can use to attract press coverage or donors. In fact, most UK charities with Royal patrons did not get a single public engagement with their Royal patron last year: 74% of them got none. Only 1% of charities with Royal patrons got more than one public engagement with them last year. {In this video, it transpires that Kate hasn’t visited one of her patronee charities for eight years.} Some got many more, but they are mainly charities set up by the Royals. We found that same pattern when we analysed a three year period, 2016-19. Charities set up by the Royals are 2% of the patronee charities but last year got 36% of the Royals’ public engagements with patronee charities. (Later, Prince William took over two patronages from the Queen and Prince Philip. One of those charities had had one official engagement from their Royal patron in the last ten years: the other had had none in ten years.

Giving Evidence today publishes research about Royal patronages of charities: what are they, who gets them, and do they help? This fits within our work of providing robust evidence so that charities and donors can be as effective as possible.

www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1339167/princess-diana-news-homeless-charity-centrepoint-prince-william-royal-family-spt

I remember Diana taking her sons to see what homelessness looks like. I hope that William does the same with his children.

In short, we found that charities should not seek or retain Royal patronages expecting that they will help much.

giving-evidence.com/2020/07/16/royal-findings/

Royals only visit charities they set up and near to where they live. They don't want to spend time working they have lots of private time spending public money on their private jets and helicopters causing immense pollution

Grany do you not think that the lack of visits to charities by their Royal Patrons in 2021 was due to half of the year the U.K. was under strict Covid-19 restrictions?

Exactly. And Royals accept patronages of far more charities than they could hope to visit each year because their name helps the charity. Should they only accept patronages for a few so that they are able to visit them all sufficiently frequently? Perhaps you should look at the engagements of some members of the RF to see just how many things they do to support charities Grany.

Who is/are 'we' Grany?