Prince William Makes Good on a Spontaneous Promise He Made to a Small Town Youth Club
Prince William Makes Good on a Spontaneous Promise He Made to a Small Town Youth Club
Meredith KileTue, September 15, 2026 at 8:36 PM UTC
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Prince William speaks with teens at the Princetown Youth Club during a visit to Dartmoor on Sept. 15, 2026Credit: Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty -
Prince William visited Dartmoor to launch the Princetown Community Fund, diverting funds he receives as the Duke of Cornwall back into the community
While there, he visited the Princetown Youth Club, where he recently had a leaky roof repaired after an earlier private visit
The Prince of Wales also met with two local alpacas, named Treacle and Noodle
Prince William stepped out for an important visit to Dartmoor on Tuesday, Sept. 15, meeting residents and visiting local businesses in the aptly named Princetown.
The visit marked the launch of the Princetown Community Fund, a new community-led fund that will support “projects delivering lasting social, economic and environmental benefits for local people across Princetown and the surrounding Dartmoor area,” according to a royal press release.
The new fund is the result of an announcement that William, 44, made in June 2026 in his capacity as the Duke of Cornwall. He previously received over $2 million in annual rent from HMP Dartmoor, a men’s prison that has sat empty since July 2024, when high levels of the toxic gas radon were detected in the living quarters.
Prince William directed that the income from the prison instead be returned to the community through the Princetown Community Fund, as well as environmental projects and job creation efforts.
Prince William speaks to local schoolchildren during a visit to Princetown in Dartmoor to launch the new Princetown Community Fund on Sept. 15, 2026Credit: Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty
During his visit, William also visited a Princetown location that has already benefited from his Duchy funds: the Princetown Youth Club.
During an earlier private visit to the club, the royal heir reportedly noticed that the building had a leaky roof and ordered an estimate for repairs on the spot.
Emma Byrom, the chair of the youth club, later told The Independent that William’s decisive action kept the club open. She said that was extra meaningful in a smaller area like Princetown, where kids “don’t always get the same opportunities they get in a city like [nearby] Plymouth.”
“The prince had visited before, and he said: ‘It’s not closing on my watch,’ and it hasn’t,” Byrom said.
During his visit on Tuesday, William watched some of the local teens participate in a drama workshop before asking after the recent repairs.
“Is it better [that] there is no hole in the roof?” he asked with a laugh. “A bit draughty when I last came here.”
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Prince William speaks with teens at the Princetown Youth Club during a visit to Princetown in Dartmoor on Sept. 15, 2026Credit: Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty
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William’s time in Princetown also included an encounter with two local alpacas named Treacle and Noodle.
He asked their owners, Gari and Karen Munn, who operated Hooves and Moor, an alpaca trekking business, how their thick coats had fared during the U.K.’s record-breaking summer heat.
“They have actually been quite good,” Gari said. “They haven’t fared too badly.”
“They look very well looked after,” William replied, earning a laugh when he asked, “Are they allowed in the house?”
Prince William meets an alpaca during a visit to Princetown in Dartmoor to launch the new Princetown Community Fund on Sept. 15, 2026Credit: Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty
Prince William’s outing fell on the 42nd birthday of his estranged brother, Prince Harry.
A palace insider recently told PEOPLE that the years-long feud between the brothers has been “magnified” by Harry and Meghan Markle’s recent return to the U.K., six years after they stepped away from their roles as working royals.
“When they were in California, and you gazed through the looking glass, you couldn’t see it so well, but it is right back in front of them,” the source said.
Royal author Russell Myers agreed, telling PEOPLE, “William and Catherine can maintain that their focus has to be about them and their family, but there will be pressure on them about how they interact with Harry and Meghan and their family in the future.”
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