The Prince of Wales showed he can pack a regal punch this morning, after joining a boxing class while on a charity visit in West London.

William, 42, looked to be enjoying the physical challenge as he showered left and right upper cuts on his sparring partner’s pads as he visited the Ealing branch of Centrepoint.

The royal, attending solo without the Princess of Wales, spent time chatting to young people about the challenges they’ve faced while living on the streets.

One of the UK’s biggest charities for homeless youth, William learned how the services offered at the branch means there are 17 beds for young people aged 16-25 who are experiencing homelessness.

The Prince also indulged another of his passions, playing a spot of table football.

William, famously an Aston Villa fan, looked passionate about the challenge, celebrating when his team appeared to draw.

When the game appeared to go his way, the prince, casually dressed in a denim shirt, navy cardigan and navy chinos, teamed with brown casual shoes, high-fived his team mate by way of celebration.

The heir to the throne, dressed down in a blue cardigan and chinos, said: ‘This looks like it’s getting serious, I don’t want to let you down!’

In 2023, the Prince and Princess of Wales created their own initiative, Homewards, a five-year project to try and alleviate homelessness.

Earlier this week, Prince William’s adoration for the beautiful game was revealed – apparently the heir to the throne uses a ‘secret name’ online to follow the latest Aston Villa news and rumours on fan forums, a fellow supporter has revealed.

The Prince of Wales, a regular visitor to Villa Park with his son Prince George, told how he has taken his fandom to the next level while using a pseudonym to protect his identity online.

William, who is president of the English Football Association, is one of Villa’s most famous supporters and has been spotted on numerous occasions at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground chatting with boss Unai Emery.

He spoke to youngsters who have turned their lives around with the help of the organisation.

As he attempted to defend his goal, Bethany, 24, told the prince how she had been made homeless at the age of 17 with a young child before going on to study at the London School of Economics.

William said: ‘You are one of the shining examples of how Centrepoint can help people, can you tell me about the transition of how you came into contact with everyone here?’

Bethany said: ‘It was close several times to being on the streets, but we were given accommodation that just wasn’t suitable for a young child.

‘When I finally got into contact with Centrepoint they helped me so much with my life skills and everything that was going on with my situation that I was able to go to university, it was totally transformative.

‘It was the safety net I needed and without them I do not know where I would be now.’

After drawing the match 2-2, William conceded ‘we’ll call it an honourable draw.’

He was then taken outside to join a fitness session run by the Boxwise Foundation.

The organisation, founded by philanthropist Nick Maughan who also serves as a trustee of Tusk Trust of which William is a patron, works with the most disadvantaged and vulnerable young people across the UK, striving to reduce the rates of gang violence and knife crime through sport, community and opportunity.

William – who has previously revealed he has tried boxing before – dived straight in after being handed a pair of gloves by Charlie Beatt, a professional coach who has spearheaded the careers of world champions, saying: ‘You guys look like you’re professionals already!’

Mr Beatt took William and a group of five youngsters through a set of boxing drills, throwing left and right jabs followed by a left hook leading the future king to admit: ‘I’m working up a sweat already’.

After congratulating him on his skillset, William told the trainer: ‘I might get back into boxing! It’s been a while, a long time actually, but it’s seriously hard work.’

William was keen to use his visit to ask young people how Centrepoint has been pivotal in helping the service users get back on their feet after the ‘cliffface’ of homelessness, before going on to start university courses and even set up businesses.

The Ealing centre offers 17 beds for young people aged 16-25.

Centrepoint CEO Seyi Obakin told the prince of the importance of ‘catching young people before it’s too late’ and how the charity was constantly working on ‘identifying ways in which we can help early on’.

William said: ‘This is it, and this is what I hear time and time again, the safety net that is needed. Because without it, the alternatives are very real and have huge knock on effects.’

Palace aides said the purpose of William’s visit was to ‘listen and learn’ about the ways in which Centrepoint has used decades of experience to help people who find themselves on the edges of society.

The prince is now in his second year of a five-year programme ‘Homewards’, which is aimed at bringing together those suffering from homelessness with businesses, charities and local authorities.

The project, run by his Royal Foundation team, has been working in six targeted locations in Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole, Lambeth, Newport, Sheffield and Northern Ireland to build relationships with the private and public towards the goal to end homelessness.

Back inside the centre William spoke to Nora, 21, who was described as a ‘shining example’ of the success of the organisation after setting up her own hairdressing salon and beauty clinic despite being homeless in her teens.

She told the prince more needed to be done to help young people stay in education instead of being forced to give up their dreams if they find themselves homeless.

William said: ‘That is truly amazing and quite a big deal to have opened up your own business so well done to you.

‘We have to do more to help people as early as possible, because the clifface is quite big.

‘It can be a steep curve upwards if you get the right support, but a huge drop off if you don’t.’

Agreeing with the prince, Nora said: ‘You can’t really build a life if you don’t have the stability, so that is key.’

Following the visit Mr Obakin said William was a ‘true ambassador’ for the cause, adding: ‘We couldn’t ask for more. The more he takes on, the more he knows he could be open to criticism. People can say ‘oh you live in a palace, what do you know about this situation’, but he listens and he can be the change.

‘Everything is laced with risk for him, whether the criticism is that he is being too political or stepping out of his lane, but we need him and we support each other.’

Kensington Palace said Centrepoint, as a key partner of the prince’s homelessness project, would help to advise The Royal Foundation on the design of the programme, and provide advice and guidance on its ongoing development.

A spokesperson said: ‘Homewards is now in its second year and The Prince is focussed on the action that can take place across the six locations. He will no doubt take inspiration from the innovative approach he saw at Centrepoint today.’

This comes as Prince William was seen at a Wetherspoons pub at Birmingham New Street station before Aston Villa’s encounter with Everton on last Wednesday.

Fan Steve Jones told the Athletic: ‘He said he keeps abreast of Villa gossip because he is on all the fans’ forums.

‘He goes under different names and he posts on there because that’s how he gets the feeling of what’s going on and what’s the opinion.’

Mr Jones was contacted by the club to meet William but was not told who he would be meeting, having only been given a time and place.

He and the other fans were told to ‘call him what you want’ as the prince was off duty and there on his ‘own time’.

Jones said: ‘He came in and he wasn’t surrounded by loads of security, just one of his aides.

‘Bold as brass, he introduced himself, shook everyone’s hand and said, “Right, shall we have a round?”.’

William bought a round of beers for eight Villa fans and sipped a pint of Bulmers cider, staying for around half an hour before catching a train back to London.

Steve said: ‘We were contacted by the club saying Prince William wanted to meet a delegation of Villa fans as he was in Birmingham as he wanted to keep in the loop with everything going on at Villa.

‘He was fantastic. I was quite amazed about how engaged he was with the club, his interest. He’s not a fair weather fan. He really loves the club with a passion.’

‘We spoke about the club, the transfers, the pending Champions League trip to Monaco, and all things Aston Villa. He asked many questions – he’s got a good level of interest.

‘It was 95 per cent chat about Villa as that’s our shared interest but a bit about his family. Young George is a Villa fan but he didn’t want all three to be Villa fans.’

While Charlotte and Louis have shown interest in England, they haven’t spoken about supporting a club.