The Prince of Wales has announced that homelessness will be his charitable focus while he awaits his eventual succession to the Crown. In an announcement this week, he pledged £3 million as the start of a lifelong commitment to tackling the issue, which will begin by funding ‘housing first’ schemes in six areas, taking the lead from Scandinavian approaches which aim to stop people falling between the cracks and sort them with accommodation before focusing on other issues in their life.

There is a danger of being another wealthy man throwing money at a problem that others have already found impossible to solve

It is a sensible choice for the Prince. Stopping rough sleeping and other forms of homelessness, such as temporary and unsuitable housing, is a fairly uncontroversial cause which is unlikely to bring him into conflict with his father’s government. It also links nicely to his mother’s legacy – she first took him and Prince Harry to meet the homeless when they were in prep school. Yet the future king could do far more than the current, limited project – by turning some of his own land over to the houseless.

Upon his father’s accession, the Prince of Wales succeeded to several estates traditionally held by the heir to the throne. As Duke of Cornwall, he controls land worth around £1 billion, scattered across the country from inner London to the edges of his future realms. He owns the land around the Oval, most of Dartmoor, Scilly and other chunks of Cornwall and Herefordshire – offering plenty of scope to build for and house the homeless.

To do so would be in a fine royal tradition. Prince William’s predecessors have turned their land over to various charitable institutions over the centuries. Charles II provided the space, and the funds, for Chelsea’s Royal Hospital, while Henry VIII funnelled the spoils of the Dissolution into a range of establishments. Even before the Norman conquest, Athelstan used his royal wealth to endow some of the first royal almshouses.

By bringing this charity to his own backyard, Prince William would also be following in the footsteps of his father. King Charles used the estates that make up the Duchy of Cornwall for his initiatives, including building Poundbury, the modern model village with new builds in traditional styles. The King also used workshops on his estates to preserve dying crafts, and as a place for young people in the Prince’s Trust to learn to build.

There is no doubt that the current Prince of Wales is well-intentioned, or that he intends for his homelessness schemes to succeed. But there is a danger of being another wealthy man throwing money at a problem that others have already found impossible to solve. Opening up his own land and building specialist accommodation on his estates could be a real sign of personal investment.

This itself would be a hugely symbolic move. The Prince would be showing that not only does he want to support the homeless, but also that he is happy to draw them close. It would tell a story of personal involvement, of more than monetary sacrifice. It would also be a clear riposte to many of the hypocrites in the world of charity.

There are plenty of celebrities who are happy to make donations but pull back from real, personal commitments. They urge the state or third sector to help refugees, the homeless, or other unfortunates, but draw the line at opening their own homes. The future king could trump them in his generosity, and avoid the same criticisms by making his charity begin at home.

On top of that, in a country largely opposed to any sort of housing springing up, it would be an important, broader gesture. The homeless might be society’s most downtrodden but they are also the most maligned, with attempts to house them often met with objections above and beyond those usually levelled at new developments. Local residents fear crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour, as well as parochial things like their views being spoiled – what better rejoinder than a future king saying, ‘Yes in my backyard’?

There is much to be welcomed about the Prince of Wales’ announcement on homelessness. He’s found a cause he cares deeply about, which sits well alongside his increasingly senior status as a royal. But future kings are not like other celebrities when it comes to patronage. They should not just be writing cheques to assuage guilt about their wealth, but binding themselves to their nation. Their sacrifice should be more personal.

It would be the perfect blend of mediaeval and modern monarchy if the Prince were to invite the paupers to his land. By allocating an appropriate portion of his estates for the very poorest he could lead by example to show that problems of homelessness should not be dealt with out of sight. William should establish himself as the YIMBY King, and offer at least some of the homeless a home.