PRINCE William has vowed to go a "step further" than his family has in the past and "actually bring change" by being a "social leader".
Speaking to travelling media today in Singapore he reflected from the heart on his first year as Prince of Wales.
William, 41, fresh from taking his Earthshot to Asia, said his project is "so much more" than just a prize ceremony.
But he revealed his inner drive to ensure his Prince of Wales role will "bring change" to causes close to his heart such as homelessness and mental health.
In an extraordinary revealing interview, William said he wants to "build homes" and "provide mental support, all the employment and the education".
He pledged to "remain focused" and wants to use the convening power of his role to give people a "better future" and concentrate on key social issues to "not spread yourself too thin".
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Asked to reflect on the first 12 months since becoming Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, William said: "So I think the thing that ties it all together for me is about social leadership."
He added: "That’s what I'm trying to find my way in is I care about so many things and previously the family have been very much spotlighting brilliantly and going round and highlighting lots – I want to go a step further.
"I want to actually bring change and I want to bring people to the table who can do the change if I can’t do it.
"And so it’s all about progressing, helping and advancing particular social causes that need to be given more support.
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"I've been in the homelessness sector for a long time now, and so rather than just being patron I want to do more, I want to actually build the homes, I want to provide them with the mental support, all the employment and the education they might need.
"So it's all these wraparound services, it's kind of going deeper and longer, than it is the case of just having loads of causes that you sort of turn up and keep an eye on.
"It's more about how do I show my intent more? How do we do more for you? And give you a better, better future.
“But you have to remain focused, if you spread yourself too thin you just can’t manage it and you won’t deliver the impact or the change that you really want to happen.”
The first indication that William was set to take a different direction to his family came after he and Kate returned from their tour of the Caribbean last year.
Sources close to the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were set to "rip up the rule book" and do things "the Cambridge way".
In a carefully-worded “reflection” after the tour, William said the trip had "brought into sharper focus questions about the past and future".
'THIS YEAR FEELS BIGGER'
Since then, he has taken his Earthshot Prize from London to Boston and now South East Asia.
William has vowed to tackle homelessness, an issue close to his heart since his mother Princess Diana took him to see rough sleepers in London as a child, with his Homewards scheme.
And Kate has launched Shaping Us, which will become her "life's work", to shine a spotlight on the critical importance of early childhood and how it shapes adulthood.
Speaking this morning after attending Earthshot+, a day-long event aimed at growing initiatives from his global £50million prize, the prince also reflected on the night before.
Five eco-friendly schemes won £1m each to transform their ideas to fight climate change.
And William told reporters in Singapore: "I think I'm still digesting after last night's awards ceremony, sometimes it takes a while just to kind of percolate through as to what's happened.
"We're still on the go, doing loads of meetings so I think the big thing for me is that this year feels bigger than last year, so we're progressing and we're building as we go.
'CRUCIAL'
"I think that's the key aim is that every year we’ve got to get bigger and reach more people – the profile is massive so we need to make that bigger and better.
"And this is the first time we’ve come into Asia, so it's important the Asian market see us know what the actual Prize is.
"We’ve predominantly obviously done Western with the UK and Boston. So I think it's all about working out where do we go next? How do we join the dots?
"You've just seen downstairs the impact investment side, that's really crucial. Because we're not just an award ceremony. People think this is philanthropy. They think it's just a prize ceremony. It's not, this is so much more.
"It's about how much impact can we achieve by scaling and building up and spotlighting these incredible people with brilliant solutions, we’ve just got to join some more dots between policy regulators government's money, and then you blend it all together and then see the impact from that."
Earlier, Prince William had worked up a sweat in the Singapore jungle as he heard how youngsters had been helping with conservation.
He was led around MacRitchie Nature Reserve by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
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They walked along the 250m-long Tree Tops suspension bridge giving awe-inspiring views of the rainforest.
The four-day trip to Singapore concludes today.
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