Like mother, like son.
Prince William has paid tribute to his later mother, Princess Diana, by visiting a homeless shelter they volunteered at together in the years before her death.
The Prince of Wales, 42, was pictured at The Passage in London on Thursday afternoon serving meals to those in need.
Volunteer Leo Scanlon shared details about the royal’s low-key visit, telling MailOnline that William stayed for about an hour and spoke with roughly 100 visitors to the shelter.
“When you are homeless you fall to the edge of society quickly and it’s scary how you can become invisible. We become street furniture. You aren’t seen as a person,” Scanlon told the outlet.
“When you have someone at the top of the game coming down and talking to someone at the bottom, not for a photo opportunity, just because they care. Well, it means a lot.”
Princess Diana introduced her eldest son to the charity when he was just 11 years old and he has continued to make regular visits over the years.
Scanlon said the prince had “no airs and graces” to him.
“No one at The Passage in Westminster was even calling Prince William ‘his royal highness’, just ‘William.’”
“A bomb could have gone off in the corner and he wouldn’t have noticed. He just looked you in the eye and you had his full attention,” the volunteer declared.
According to Scanlon, one man who William served wasn’t able to chat with the prince due to the afternoon rush. So, when the kitchen closed, William went out of his way to track him down and give him his undivided attention.
“The way Prince William spoke to all of us, but especially this man, meant a lot and it was so genuine,” Scanlon recalled.
“He was not doing it for a picture opportunity to look good, he genuinely cared what the guy had to say.”
The visit came one day before William stepped out with his wife Kate Middleton and their three children: sons Prince George, 11, and Prince Louis, 6, and daughter Princess Charlotte, 9, for the fourth annual “Together at Christmas” service on Friday, which was hosted by the Princess of Wales.
During the festivities, the couple’s youngest child was photographed carrying a red piece of paper with a handwritten note about what he is thankful for.
