Prince William has been praised by members of the public for selling copies of The Big Issue, with one lucky vendor making the most of the spike in sales.
The Duke of Cambridge was spotted on Wednesday in London just days after the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations selling "piles" of the magazine, which was to the delight of veteran vendor Dave Martin because William was using his card payment reader, according to reports.
The royal, dressed in the magazine's red gilet and baseball cap, shifted all of his copies within an hour on the streets of Westminster – potentially becoming London’s fastest-selling Big Issue vendor.
Martin, 60, joined him selling the publication, which aims to aims to help homeless people, and William was soon spotted by stunned members of the public.
Martin told The Sun : "William sold more than me, that was to be expected, but he was using my card machine so it didn’t matter. All those sales are recorded as mine anyway, he was a great guy.”
Retired Met Police chief superintendent Matthew Gardner shared photos of William on his LinkedIn account after his brother-in-law's chance encounter with the heir to the throne in Westminster.
Gardener said: "My brother-in-law was in London and saw a celebrity, so he took a photo at a distance. The celebrity saw the ‘covert surveillance’ effort and crossed the road to investigate further.
"What an honour to have a private moment with our future king who was humble and working quietly in the background, helping the most needy. These ‘silent gestures’ often go unrecognised."
Going on to explain the encounter more, Gardener said his brother-in-law didn't get away without putting his hand in his pocket.
He added: "The finale to this unique occasion was when Prince William asked my brother-in-law If he wanted to buy the Big Issue, to which he replied 'I have no change'. At this point, William produced a mobile card machine… you cannot teach that!"
Prince William and wife Kate have previously spoken of their involvement with charities close to their heart, and often inspired by his mother, the late Princess Diana.
In 2014 he visited homeless charity Centrepoint and in 2018, he and wife Kate went to The Passage homeless centre in Westminster.
William previously revealed how his mum had taken him to the Passage when he was just 12 years old with brother Prince Harry.
Princess Diana made homelessness her first charitable priority after joining the Royal Family, and met those directly affected.
William will appear in an upcoming edition of the Big Issue after being interviewed by Dave, it is reported.
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