Read all about it...Wills is a Big Issue seller for a day
Portrait displayed in St Andrews
ONlY days ago he was watched by the world in all his ceremonial finery at Trooping the Colour.
But this week Prince William kept a much lower profile – as he put on a very different uniform and became a Big issue seller for the day.
There was no fanfare ahead of William’s shift for the magazine, which provides work for homeless people. But, wearing the official red cap and vest, the prince was spotted selling copies on a street in Westminster by passers-by.
Big issue seller Dave martin, 60, said the prince’s new role was organised for an article featuring William, which will be published in the magazine a week on monday.
After posing for a photo with William and black cab driver Neil Kramer, he said the prince, 39, who joined him for several hours, was a ‘natural’ at selling the magaappeared
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zines – and certainly helped shift copies. mr martin, who as a vendor makes money on every copy sold, said: ‘People started to accumulate after a little while. i managed to sell all my magazines. Well, he sold them. Not me. Prince William certainly helped me make more money yesterday.
‘He was really good at talking to people. He seemed just like a regular guy. He was chatty and really laid-back.’
mr martin, who started selling The Big issue ten years ago when he was homeless and is also a member of social enterprise Homeless made, added: ‘i suppose it surprised me seeing just how popular he was. Out came the phones.’
Previously mr martin’s biggest brush with fame was a Big issue event where he on stage alongside rock band muse. ‘i didn’t think it’d get better than that,’ he said. Although he was with William in Westminster, mr martin’s usual spot is outside Tesco in Brook Green, Hammersmith, west london.
William, patron of charity Centrepoint, has worked on homelessness projects since his mother Diana took him to meet rough sleepers as a boy. He has told how he talked to children George and Charlotte about the plight of the rough sleepers they pass on their way to school.
IT is the historic college town where the Duchess of Cambridge first met her prince more than 20 years ago.
Now Kate has ‘come home’ to St Andrews in the form of a striking photographic portrait.
The image, by Italian photographer Paolo Roversi, shows the Duchess in a £3,450 Alexander McQueen asymmetric dress she famously wore for pictures taken in celebration of her 40th birthday earlier this year.
It will go on display on Sunday at the Wardlaw Museum at the University of St Andrews.
Mr Roversi’s photograph is one of three that were taken to mark Kate’s 40th. Each are on loan as part of the National Portrait Gallery’s ‘Coming Home’ initiative. St Andrews was selected for being the place where the Duchess met Prince William.
Dr Catherine Eagleton, director of libraries and museums at the University of St Andrews, said: ‘We’re thrilled that this new portrait will be displayed in the Wardlaw Museum, and hope it encourages people to visit both the Wardlaw Museum and the extraordinary town we call home.’