Prince William forced to apologise for the sound of his voice during royal engagement

William, 42, told guests at the events that he has “got a hoarse voice after last night”, as he enthused over a “hell of a goal”.

He spent over an hour at an event in Brixton, marking one year of his Homewards project and urging experts in the sector to advise him on how best to help.

The project is being piloted in six areas of the UK, where local experts are encouraged to work together to find solutions to eradicate homelessness in all its forms.

The Prince of Wales urged guests at the event, including those from the charity sector, local authorities, and those who have experienced homelessness themselves, to use Homewards as their “resource and support”.

In a speech, William acknowledged that “demonstrating that homelessness is not an inevitable part of our society will take time”.

However, he said the progress made by Homewards in the first of its five years is a “powerful reminder to everyone of what can be achieved when we work together towards a shared goal”.

The prince arrived at the small courtyard garden in Brixton and made his way around six stands representing the six locations of the project, Newport; the Dorset towns of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, Lambeth, Belfast, Aberdeen, and Sheffield.

At each stall, three or four local experts were ready to speak to the royal.

The team from Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch (BPC) raised the topic of football, knowing the prince is both president of the FA and an avid fan of Aston Villa, the club for whom winning goal scorer Ollie Watkins plays.

He said: “I’ve got a hoarse voice from last night.

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“I have a little moment when I thought 'He might do this!' I was willing him on when he came on. It was a hell of a goal.”

Later in the event, as someone congratulated him on the result, he looked delighted but laughed: “I didn’t play last night, I can’t take credit for it.”

All six of his conversations centred on the importance of listening to experts already working in the homelessness sector.

William told the Sheffield team: “So many people are doing brilliant work and have been doing it for years and years. We want you to feel that [Homewards] is a resource and support for you.”