Royal news live: King Charles given military honours on first day of landmark Australia visit

Prince William has praised the winners of the Centrepoint Awards following last night’s ceremony in London.

The charity, of which William, 42, is a patron, provides support and accommodation to young people aged 18 to 25 who are affected by homelessness.

The awards recognised those making notable contributions in this area.

Taking to the official Kensington Palace Twitter/X account, the heir to the throne wrote: “The @centrepointuk Award winners and finalists have overcome so much and achieved incredible things in leadership, education and their communities. Congratulations to you all!”

King Charles is set to begin his eight-day overseas tour of Australia and Samoa tomorrow.

The monarch, 75, who will be accompanied by Queen Camilla, is reported to be temporarily pausing his cancer treatment for the trip.

Charles will arrive in Sydney, Australia, tomorrow, where he and the queen will have the honour of watching a special show on the Sydney Oprah House, which will be illuminated by images from previous royal tours.

The Prince of Wales has been praised for his “incredible” work in attempting to end homelessness in the UK following yesterday’s Centrepoint Awards.

William, 42, who is the charity’s patron, presented an award to 26-year-old Zoe at the British Museum event, who said she had been left inspired by the recognition.

Centrepoint provides support and accommodation to young homeless people aged between 18 and 25 in the UK.

“It’s been kind of surreal. It was really nice to meet the Prince of Wales. He was actually genuine and he actually wanted to speak to us. It was nice,” Zoe, whose surname remains private, said.

“It was surreal [to win an award],” she added. “I think it’s given me a lot of push to think about the future as well and the kind of things that I want to do.”

Praising William’s anti-homelessness initiative Homewards, she said: “I think what he’s doing is actually incredible. I don’t think there would be many people in his position that had the power to do what he’s doing. I think he’s actually really pushing for it.

“I really hope (it can bring hope to others). I think it does for me and I think it does for quite a lot of people. Hopefully we’ll get to where we want to be and where he wants to be as well.”

Prince William has called upon the British public to support his efforts to end homelessness.

Admitting that he likes a “challenge”, he has admitted that this is one area where change cannot be made without people coming together on a large scale.

The revelation was shared in a new clip ahead of the release of the royal’s new ITV documentary about the subject, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness.

“I like a big challenge, I do like that, but I can’t do it on my own,” he said.

The programme follows the prince during the first year of his anti-homelessness initiative, Homewards.

Can the royal family and King Charles adapt to the modern age and stay relevant? Will Harry be able to rejoin The Firm? And what will the next generation of royalty be like?

These and more questions from our audience were answered in The Independent’s premium event on the future of the royal family.

Hosted by assistant editor Victoria Harper, the panel features bestselling authors Anna Pasternak and Tessa Dunlop, plus royal historian Jonathan Spangler.

Watch the full event here. If you enjoy our virtual events, please consider supporting The Independent with a donation or by subscribing to Independent Premium.

A royal expert has speculated about the contents of the Princess of Wales’s Christmas card for 2024.

Biographer Ingrid Seward said that the card will almost certainly feature Kate, 42, with her and Prince William’s three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, six.

She told the Mirror: “[It will] definitely be with family as right across the board that is what has been traditionally sent.

“I imagine that it will be cuddly picture of her with her arms around her children.”

King Charles has attended a concert celebrating the cultural relationship between the UK and Italy.

The monarch, who is patron of the London Symphony Orchestra, took in the hour-long performance of Rossini’s ‘The Barber of Seville’ overture, Paganini’s First movement from Violin Concerto No 1, and Puccini’s ‘Crisantemi’ for String Orchestra.

The engagement comes just days before the monarch is due to travel overseas for a nine-day tour of Australia and Samoa.

The Prince of Wales has called for a movement that creates “systemic change” to end homelessness in the UK.

William made the comments on Wednesday evening as Centrepoint, the homeless charity he supports as a patron.

Speaking at the Kensington Palace event, which was hosted by broadcaster Claudia Winkleman, William said: “I am inspired by the ambition and commitment of all the award winners and nominees this evening. You should all be incredibly proud of yourselves.

“What inspires me the most about the young people here this evening, is that they have not only overcome homelessness to achieve their personal ambitions, but they are also all contributing to the communities in which they live… be that through teaching, fundraising or volunteering.

“While homelessness is of course a complex societal issue, I passionately believe that it can, and should, be ended.”

William said he believed this required “a movement that creates systemic change” which “focuses on prevent rather than management” and “ensures all young people have truly affordable options to live and thrive independently”.

William has arrived at the British Museum ahead of the Centrepoint Awards.

The Prince of Wales met with the young finalists and was laughing and joking with them as he made his way around the groups.

An orchestra played Adele’s Skyfall in the background.