Advertisement
News

Prince William has been meeting Big Issue vendors again

Just days after Prince William tried his hand at selling The Big Issue, the future king bumped into another vendor in Cambridge.

Prince William hit the headlines earlier this month after his spell selling The Big Issue – now it has been revealed the future king has caught up with another vendor just days later.  

During a visit to modular homes development Jimmy’s in Cambridge, William, this time with Catherine, posed with our man Eamonn Kelly after spending 45 minutes chatting to the vendor on his sofa on June 23.

Kelly, 52, who sells The Big Issue on Trinity Street in the city, has lived in the pod for two years and was happy to welcome the royal couple into his home as part of William’s continued education on homelessness.

“I always liked William because he reminds me of his mum and he is like her: he’s loyal, he’s down-to-earth and he doesn’t judge you. I told him my mum died five months ago and he told me he knows what that’s like. He shook my hand and told me it doesn’t get any easier,” said Eamonn, who has been selling The Big Issue magazine for 15 years.

“He’s a down-to-earth guy. We spoke about homelessness and he told he’d never seen a place as clean as my pod. I said I try!  I told him how I had a crack habit for six years but now I’m clean as a whistle”.

Prince William tried his hand at selling The Big Issue earlier in June alongside London seller Dave Martin.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Prince WIlliam and Big Issue seller Dave Martin in red Big Issue hats and tabards stand in conversation as an elderly woman walks past
A slow start gave Prince William and Big Issue seller Dave Martin a chance to chat. Image: Andy Parsons/Big Issue

The future monarch, who donned the iconic red tabard as part of his 40th birthday celebrations said he “refused to believe that homelessness is an irrevocable fact of life” after his spell selling the magazine.

“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,” said William. “ 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.”

Read more about what happened when Prince William sold The Big Issue:

Advertisement

Learn more about our impact

When most people think about the Big Issue, they think of vendors selling the Big Issue magazines on the streets – and we are immensely proud of this. In 2022 alone, we worked with 10% more vendors and these vendors earned £3.76 million in collective income. There is much more to the work we do at the Big Issue Group, our mission is to create innovative solutions through enterprise to unlock opportunity for the 14million people in the UK living in poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
DWP housing benefits are leaving low-income renters with nowhere to rent in England
RENTING

DWP housing benefits are leaving low-income renters with nowhere to rent in England

Deliveroo is offering free meals to LGBTQ+ people facing homelessness
Pride Month

Deliveroo is offering free meals to LGBTQ+ people facing homelessness

How the Scottish government is hoping to end the need for food banks
Food banks

How the Scottish government is hoping to end the need for food banks

When will house prices go down?
House Prices

When will house prices go down?

Most Popular

Read All
Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023
1.

Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023

Strike dates 2023: From trains to airports to tube lines, here are the dates to know
2.

Strike dates 2023: From trains to airports to tube lines, here are the dates to know

Suranne Jones opens up about her 'relentless and terrifying' experiences of bullying
3.

Suranne Jones opens up about her 'relentless and terrifying' experiences of bullying

Arctic Monkeys team up with Big Issue to produce unique tour programme
4.

Arctic Monkeys team up with Big Issue to produce unique tour programme