Prince William was put on the spot by 11-year-old Amir Hassan on Thursday when the cheeky youngster asked the royal about his personal wealth as the Prince of Wales visited Manchester’s Moss Side.
William was in the city to learn about a project tackling youth violence alongside Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester. Both the Royal Foundation the Mayor’s personal office donated £50,000 each in order to help the project, which is run by the Manchester Peace Together Alliance.
As the heir to the throne visited Hideaway Youth Project, he met with volunteers and young people, including Amir who was working on a collage alongside other schoolchildren.
During their conversation, Amir questioned William about how much was in the royal’s “bank account”. The question got William laughing, and Amir later shared what the response with, saying William “didn’t know”.
The prince also watched volunteers cutting out hairstyles they thought were empowering and positive, and when asked if he wanted to get involved, the 41-year-old joked: “I’m literally the last person you should ask. My hair is disappearing.”
William also had a difficult time when he attempted to play pool in front of a crowd, eliciting groans after he failed to sink a yellow ball twice.
© Anthony DevlinThe royal didn’t just have light-hearted encounters during his outing, as he sat down with mothers who had sadly lost their children due to violence. Audrey Preston, 57, lost her 21-year-old son three years ago and shared: “I think it’s important he came into Moss Side to listen to our stories. When I was told he was coming I thought ‘wow, why would he want to come and listen to me?’.
“Lots of kids get murdered in this area and nobody cares really about the families, we’re just left to our own devices, so it’s good he came, good for the community.”
© Anthony DevlinAfter the visit to the Hideaway Youth Project, William made sure to honour a promise as he made a personal detour to the Moss Side Millennium Powerhouse, following an invite from Wendy Simms, who met the royal during a garden party in May.
Wendy had been invited to the garden parties due to her work with the Keeping It Real food bank in the community. The prince brought his own donation for Wendy, which consisted of a variety of foods that are culturally significant to Jamaicans, including yams and dragonfruit.
© WPA PoolThe dad-of-three toured the facility and met with staff and volunteers before getting stuck in at the kitchen as he assisted in the preparation of a fish stew, that was cooked alongside a Jamaican speciality known as Saturday Soup.
Finishing his trip, William visited Jessie’s Wall, a memorial to Jessie James who was shot dead in 2006 at the age of 15. The royal met Jessie’s mother Barbara Reid, Rosemary Reid, his sister, Millicent Henry, his aunt, and family friend Hilary Charlesworth.
© WPA PoolFollowing a speech from Barbara, William headed off, shaking hands and taking selfies with crowds that had assembled.
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