Prince William heads out for solo visit without Kate as Prince Harry prepares for trip

Prince William is visiting a youth organisation in Lambeth, South London today, arriving before his estranged brother Prince Harry is due out on an engagement in Nottingham

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Prince William visits youth organisation in Lambeth

Prince William has arrived for a visit at a youth organisation in London – before estranged brother Prince Harry is due out on an engagement in Nottingham.

William is on a solo visit without the Princess of Wales to Spiral Skills, which has received funding from the prince’s homelessness initiative Homewards to move into a new hub for young people at The Oasis Village, Tulse Hill.

It comes as Harry continues out his first visit to the UK in five months today, with the warring brothers long-running rift showing no sign of abating. Yesterday, they came within just eight miles of each other as they honoured their late grandmother the Queen on the third anniversary of her death.

Harry laid a wreath and flowers privately at Elizabeth II’s tomb in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, while William and Kate were a short car ride away in Sunningdale, Berkshire, as they visited the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (WI) in tribute to the late Queen’s decades-long association with the organisation.

The youth organisation William is visiting today was founded in 2015 and works with local schools, youth organisations and authorities to provide early intervention, support, employability skills and access to employment and services for 14 to 25-year-olds, Kensington Palace said.

The prince visited the organisation at its new space and see how it offers support for those who need it, before attending a workshop with Young Creators UK, a creative agency run and owned by underrepresented young people which receives referrals from Spiral Skills.

William will be joined by Homewards advocate and former England midfielder Fara Williams to hear about how the organisation has helped people to gain confidence and learn new skills.

During the visit to the music charity, the Prince of Wales said he is making sure his children are learning to play instruments because music is “crucial”, but the heir to the throne turned down the opportunity to play the drums, saying his son Prince Louis would have done it if he had been there.

Asked by 16-year-old Django Brooke whether he wanted to play, Prince William laughed and replied: “I’m definitely not a drummer. I’m happy to see you do it, if my youngest was here, he’d have a go, because he’s practicing at the moment, but I’d love to hear you do it. But thank you for asking.”

William popped into the music studio during a visit to The Oasis Village in Tulse Hill, south London, where he was hearing more about the work of Spiral Skills, a youth organisation in Lambeth, which has expanded its services in the community hub thanks to a grant from his Homewards Fund.

Applauding after hearing Django perform, he said, laughing, “And that’s why you play, and I don’t!” The Prince told the young musicians taking part in a workshop, “It’s brilliant you guys have clearly done a lot of practising, well done, that’s not easy doing that in front of everyone – that’s brilliant.

“You’ve all got amazing rhythm and it sounds fantastic, I wish I started when I was your age. I couldn’t read music so that was biggest weakness, I started off playing piano, trumpet and the drums and then realised I had to memorise every tune and it just fell away. I make sure my children learn music because I love music and it’s crucial, really important.”

Prince George plays guitar, Princess Charlotte plays piano and Prince Louis plays drums, but Symphony Studios founder Seth Pinnock said of William: “He said he couldn’t play drums well. He said he had learned drums and learned keyboards but couldn’t read it… But his children are learning to play keys, so hopefully his kids will come here one day and learn.”

Meanwhile, Harry will revisit the Community Recording Studio (CRS) in Nottingham’s St Ann’s area. Harry last visited the CRS to mark World Mental Health Day in October 2019, just two months before he and Meghan announced they were stepping down as senior working royals and moving to North America.

He is planning to hold a private briefing with Children in Need, the Police and Crime Commission, the CRS and community outreach group Epic Partners in Nottingham, stage informal catch-ups with some of the young people he met before, and watch performances from CRS artists and make a short speech.

The Duke is hoping to bring together key stakeholders, influencers and potential funders to shine a light on the work of grassroots organisations such as CRS and Epic Partners and the sports apprenticeship body Coach Core.

While Harry is expected to potentially have a long overdue reunion with his father, King Charles, during his rare trip to UK shores, it is extremely unlikely that the Duke of Sussex will see his estranged brother, William.

Despite an olive branch being extended between the Sussex camp and the Firm earlier this year when senior aides to both Harry and Charles met in London, William is said to have firmly declined any potential reunion with his brother after years of public jabs between the two princes.

However, when it comes to Harry and Charles, sources have said there is a determination on both sides to make a meeting happen, with Wednesday being touted as a potential date.

Harry, who previously admitted he wanted reconciliation with his family, is said to be ready to ‘drop everything’ to attend a meeting. A source said: “As Harry has stated before, he’d love to see his family and be reconciled.”

However, both Buckingham Palace and spokespeople for Harry have refused to be drawn on when or whether a meeting will take place.