Those who know me well know that I am no royalist. Ask me my impression of the royal family and it will be along the lines of "worthless bunch of parasites".

Kudos, though, to Prince William for what appears to be a serious attempt to understand the plight of Britain's homeless people. Too many in today's Western societies find it easy to write the homeless off as a bunch of shiftless ne'er-do-wells. The truth, sadly, is usually more complicated than that.

Spare a thought, at this time of year, for those who are separated from their families by homelessness or who have neither homes nor families to support them. Those who think the problem can be solved by telling the homeless to pull their socks up and look for a job fail to take into account the systemic discrimination that homeless people face when trying to avail themselves of what should be universal rights in wealthy societies.

At least by trying it for a night Prince William shows sincerity in his desire to understand.