Duchess Kate to sleep on London streets (Update)

Report By: Nina Rai

London, 29 June, 2012

Very few celebrities in the world would have agreed to this heart-warming gesture, but then the Duchess of Cambridge has always been different. According to latest reports, the former Kate Middleton, has agreed to swap for one night the luxury of Kensington Palace for the dark chilly streets of London.

The 30-year-old brunette, who is no stranger to hardship, would be participating in a rough-sleeping night to draw attention to the difficulties faced by the homeless in London. The event called Sleep Out is conducted by the charity for homeless Centrepoint.

British TV star Lisa Maxwell, 48 is the ambassador at Centrepoint of which Prince William is also a patron, just as his late mother Princess Diana was before him. The star panelist on the daytime Talk show ‘Loose Woman,’ will be joining Duchess Kate when they bed down for one night as part of a Sleep Out campaign in the capital city.

Lisa Maxwell says it didn't take much arm-twisting to convince the soft-hearted Duchess to get involved. Catherine it seems promised Lisa that she was ready to sleep rough the next time the ‘Loose Woman’ Star takes part in the campaign to highlight the plight of the rising number of destitute people in London.

'I work with Centrepoint and William's our patron. We had a little do and they both came down,’ Maxwell told the Daily Mirror newspaper. ‘She asked me about sleeping out, so I said, 'Next time I do it, you're doing it with me. No excuses, he's done it.' She said, 'You're on'.' It was as simple as that.

It may be noted that the Duke of Cambridge had participated in an earlier rough-sleeping night three years ago around Christmas time. William had lain down on a bed for the night close to some garbage bins near London's Blackfriars Bridge. The highpoint of that sleep out was that the Prince was nearly run over by a road sweeper that evening in 2009.

Check Pic: Prince spends night on the streets

Writing on the Centrepoint website, Centrepoint chief executive Seyi, who too was with Prince William at that time revealed: “He was determined to do it as [Centrepoint] patron to raise awareness of the problem and to be able to understand a little better what rough sleepers go through.”

St James' Palace spokesperson had read out an official statement at the time: 'Prince William took away from the experience the importance of tackling all the issues that cause people to be homeless and stay homeless, from drug dependency to mental health problems.'

Source: Daily Mirror

Latest Update: A clarification has been made by Lisa Maxwell, the charity official at Centrepoint. According to her Duchess Kate has "no plans" to sleep rough with the homeless on London's streets. Lisa Maxwell says: "I was lucky enough to meet Kate last Christmas... We had a chat and we were saying how great it was that we do this sleep out every year and William has done it. And I said to her, you know, 'It would be great if you did it', and she said, 'Well, maybe'. She didn't say yes or no.

"So I just want to clarify - she is a massive supporter, the Duchess, of Centrepoint, as is the Duke through his patronage, and she will continue to support the charity, but at the moment there are no plans for her to sleep out. Just to clear that up. She is a great girl and I'm sure she is very supportive in that way, but at the moment - no plans."

Source: Contact Music

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