“I’ve got a hoarse voice from last night!” William said. “I have a little moment when I thought ‘…he might do this’!? I was willing him on when he came on. It was a hell of a goal.”

Later in the event, as someone congratulated him on the result, he looked delighted but laughed: “I didn’t play last night, I can’t take credit for it.”

As he spoke with each of the experts from the six locations, he heard how they were tailoring their approaches to local issues.

He joked that establishing six areas had encouraged “a bit of competition”, adding: “I love that because it does bring the best out of everyone.”

William is also said to be playing an active role in developing further plans for practical projects in his Duchy of Cornwall, following a first drive to provide 24 homes in Newquay announced earlier this year.

The event included a “fireside chat” between Homewards advocate Sabrina Hatton Cohen, and Chris Lynam where the Prince thanked them for speaking about their own experience of rough sleeping, saying: “Keep talking about it please. We have got to break the stigma.”

William said in his speech: “I created Homewards because I wanted us to look at the issue of homelessness through a different lens: to inspire a movement to prevent people from ever experiencing homelessness in the first place.”

He vowed to “improve understanding about the different forms of homelessness, shifting perceptions and boosting optimism that it can be ended.”