Prince William Arrives in Liverpool to Meet with Young People Looking to Better Their Community

Prince William visited Liverpool to spotlight community groups in the area working to support young people.

The Prince of Wales, 42, visited the Toxteth area of Liverpool on Thursday, Jan. 23, stopping by Cycle of Life, a nonprofit cycling organization that helps young people from diverse backgrounds improve their physical and mental health and boost their employment opportunities. The organization, which launched in 2020, was originally founded to provide equal access to cycling and has expanded its reach to help improve young people’s confidence, build relationships and improve access to the city as a whole, according to William’s office at Kensington Palace.

Cycle of Life is based in the Kuumba Imani Millennium Center, and William learned more about the multipurpose, multicultural building upon his arrival. He then joined Cycle of Life participants to take part in building and learning about maintaining bikes with them, and learned about how entrepreneurial cargo bikes worked in action.

Since its inception five years ago, Cycle of Life has reached around 3,850 young people directly with its programs, according to Kensington Palace.

Later on Jan. 23, the future king visited Tiber, where he met members of the Tiber Young People’s Steering Group to learn how they came together to lead the construction of a lively community hub — which has seen over 200 young people become a part of the project since its creation in 2005.

Upon his arrival, Prince William met members of the Steering Group and heard about their experiences, including the funding applications, design and construction of a new community building. He then met young men and women on the pitch of the adjoining Football Centre, which Kensington Palace said brings together over 1,200 children and young people weekly. 

He then took part in a walkabout with members of the community.

Following his wife Kate Middleton’s Jan. 14 news that she is in remission after her cancer diagnosis last year, Prince William has undertaken royal engagements like a visit to Centrepoint (a charity his mother, Princess Diana, once supported) on Jan. 21 and made a solo trip to Monaco to watch his beloved Aston Villa squad play in the UEFA Champions League that same day.

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After what Prince William himself called a “brutal” 2024 with both the Princess of Wales, 43, and his father King Charles receiving cancer diagnoses, “William must feel so fortunate that Kate has come through this that he wants to tell the world about that love. It shows the intimacy of them sharing that journey together,” royal biographer Ingrid Seward told PEOPLE.

Of their recent public displays of affection, “They are able to express themselves in a way they would never have done before,” Seward added.