Prince William Brings Prince George to Homelessness Charity, Just Like Diana

Prince William has taken his son Prince George to help prepare the annual holiday lunch at a charity for the unhoused.

The Prince of Wales, 43, introduced George, 12, to The Passage, a charity that’s said by royal staff to hold a deep personal significance to William, as he was taken there by his late mother, Princess Diana, when he was a young boy. Those visits inspired his long-term and ongoing commitment to the cause that has been a centerpiece of William’s public life.

According to the charity, William first went to The Passage with his mother when he was 11, making him around the same age as his eldest son during his first visit. And, in a poignant touch, George signed the visitors’ book at the charity on the same page signed previously by his late grandmother Diana and father, the palace revealed on Saturday, Dec. 20.

During the morning of the visit, Dec. 16, William and George helped make care packages and bake cupcakes for The Passage’s service users attending the lunch. They also helped decorate a Christmas tree, which had been one of those that helped decorate Westminster Abbey for Kate Middleton’s “Together at Christmas” carol service earlier this month.

Prince George was also introduced to some of the users of the charity’s services and heard about their experiences and the vital support The Passage provides.

“It was important to the Prince of Wales to share with Prince George the work of The Passage and to spend time volunteering alongside the team,” the Prince’s spokesperson said. “They both greatly enjoyed meeting staff, volunteers and service users as well as learning more about the charity’s work. The dedication shown not only by The Passage but by organizations across the homelessness sector, at Christmas and throughout the year, is invaluable.”

The visit took place on Dec. 16, the same day the royals had their own Christmas lunch hosted by King Charles at Buckingham Palace.

This wasn’t Prince George’s first introduction to service. Mom Princess Kate showed George and his siblings, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, how rewarding volunteering can be when she took them to a baby bank in December 2023.

It also represented the latest moment in the young prince’s very gradual immersion in the duties that will be his future. In May, Prince George joined his parents at a lunch at Buckingham Palace for World War II veterans as the 80th anniversary of VE Day was marked. Then, in November, George accompanied Princess Kate to the Festival of Remembrance, marking his first Remembrance Day event with the royals.

The Passage is the same charity that Princess Diana took William and brother, Prince Harry, when they were young. In the 2024 documentary that the royal fronted, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, he spoke about being inspired by his mom.

“I’d never been to anything like that before. And I was a bit anxious as to what to expect,” he said. “My mother went about her usual part of making everyone feel relaxed and having a laugh and joking with everyone. I remember at the time kind of thinking, ‘Well, if everyone’s not got a home, they’re all going to be really sad.’ But it was incredible how happy an environment it was.”

Earlier this year, the charity’s head, Mick Clarke, told PEOPLE about how William (who has served as patron of the charity since 2019) sometimes makes quiet, unannounced entrances to the charity’s events. During the COVID-19 pandemic in November 2020, he went to The Passage three times in four weeks.

“He came in and helped, preparing and cooking the food — and in some cases delivering the food,” Clarke told PEOPLE. “I think he feels more comfortable when it is just him with no cameras.”

Clarke added how William said that the visits with his mother “had left a deep and lasting impression.” He also “talked about how his mom made it very pointed that he – as she said – was exposed to life beyond palace walls. That is something that he and [Kate] are doing with their own children.”

The outing for William and George came a week after William marked 20 years as patron of another charity for the unhoused, Centrepoint. The organization is one of the royal heir’s longest ongoing connections, as his involvement with the charity began in 2005 — at the start of his public life, just after he finished his university studies — and reflects his longstanding commitment to helping beat youth homelessness.

In 2009, William secretly took the headline-making step of sleeping out on the streets of London one night. For a man in his position, making that decision was “brave,” CEO of Centrepoint, Seyi Obakin, who joined him that night, told PEOPLE. “He said, ‘I want to get close to this issue, and it is all well and good reading about it and talking to people affected by it, but how about I actually get a feel for it personally?’ ”

Obakin added, “He didn’t want to be in a safe zone. He wanted to have an experience that would be as close to the experience that a young person would have if they had had to make that choice.”

As he cut a three-tiered cake at Centrepoint on Dec. 9, Pricne William said, “Many of you have been here many more years than that, and it’s an amazing moment to think, in 20 years, how much has changed and been achieved by all of you. The Centrepoint family is one I am very proud to be a part of, and I can’t thank you all for all the hard work, every day, you give to help other people. It’s fantastic, and that massive cake signifies the love and the generosity and the time you all give to helping other people, so make sure you take a piece.”

Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

The Passage and Centrepoint are cornerstones of William’s mission to make homelessness “brief, rare and unrepeated.” His campaign Homewards, which sees six pilot areas around the U.K. trying different, locally-specific initiatives to counter homelessness. On July 1, the day that would have been Princess Diana’s 64th birthday, William shared a platform with U.K. politician Gordon Brown, who was Prime Minister for three years from June 2007, as they announced their latest initiative.

“I think he’s changing people’s view of homelessness and what can be done about it,” Brown said.