Prince William spotted selling The Big Issue

(LinkedIn/MatthewGardner)

Prince William has been praised by LinkedIn users after the Duke of Cambridge was spotted selling The Big Issue magazine in London on Wednesday.

Matthew Gardner took to the networking platform to share an image of William with his brother-in-law who said he initially took a photo of the prince from a distance.

“My brother in law was in London today and saw a celebrity, so he took a photo at a distance,” Gardner, who is a retired Met Police chief superintendent, wrote. “The celebrity saw the ‘covert surveillance’ effort and crossed the road to investigate further.”

He explained that was when his brother-in-law met William.

“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,” Gardner continued. “These ‘silent gestures’ often go unrecognised.

“The finale to this unique occasion was when Prince William asked my brother-in-law if he wanted to buy the ‘The Big Issue’, to which he replied ‘I have no change’.

“At this point William produced a mobile card machine… you cannot teach that ! Priceless, or should I say ‘Princely’.”

The post quickly went viral on LinkedIn, and has received nearly 7,500 reactions and 260 comments.

Users praised the Duke, with one person commenting that it was lovely to see that William “didn’t make a ‘Big Issue’ out of this”.

Another person added: “Brilliant. I love the mobile card reader touch too! I wonder how many people went home that evening and reflected on The Big Issue guy being the spitting image of him rather than the actual person.”

Others called the act a “wonderful gesture” and praised William for being a “fantastic role model”.

The Big Issue was launched in 1991 in response to the growing number of rough sleepers in London, as a way to offer people the opportunity to earn an income through selling the magazine.

The Duchess of Cambridge was also out and about yesterday, as she visited Little Village baby banks which can provide toys, clothes, and essential items to young children and families.

It comes as the Cambridges resume their duties following the Queen’s platinum jubilee weekend, which saw the royal family gather at numerous events across the four-day bank holiday to celebrate the monarch’s 70 years on the throne.