All eyes on William. In February King Charles III announced he had been diagnosed with Cancer and just last week, Kate, the Princess of Wales, said publicly that she was now fighting the malignant disease. Both have taken a step back from their royal duties and their public appearances leaving Prince William alone to carry the weight.
A Palace source said that after the crown appeared far off in the distance future, But now just a year and a half after the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of Charles, Britain appears to be preparing for the next in line to assume the thrown and William himself is perhaps realizing that that day is approaching quickly.
Anna Whitelock, a professor of the history of the monarchy at the University of London said she was sure that William's first reaction to the news of his father's illness was concern for his health adding that the prince was about the feel the heavy responsibility that he must bear.
'He knows he has to be ready to be king. I think that's the very scary moment that William would have been all too aware of, the moment of his grandmother's death," she said in an interview.
William was a shy boy in his youth, especially after his mother Princess Diana's death. According to royal biographer Katie Nicholl, he had tried to avoid much of the attention he was subjected to while still trying to deal with the trauma of his personal tragedy.
Unlike his younger brother who appeared in the headlines, sometimes unfavorably, including when he was seen in a Nazi uniform in a party, William kept himself out of scandal until the sibling's rift became public in 2018 with the arrival of Meghan Markle on the scene, which according to palace insiders, disrupted the peace in the family and especially between the two brothers.
In 2019, the In Touch Magazine claimed the Prince of Wales was having an affair with Rose Hanbury, a close friends of his wife Kate. Although William denied the rumors, the princess appeared to be exhibiting a cold shoulder toward him fueling the belief that there is some truth to the story.
Having weathered those storms, William began taking on more royal duties and when his grandmother died in September 2022, he became his father's right-hand man. He had been praised for his work and for the matters he has advanced including a call for humanitarian aid to be increased in Gaza and for the Israeli captives held there by Hamas to be released.
Now that both Charles and Kate are ill, it is William and also Camilla who have stepped into the spotlight and according to reports, this has helped them mend their own relationship that had been fraught over the years.
A royal watcher told the Sunday Times that William would like to balance his private life where he can support his wife and children, and his public life and appears to be successfully doing so.
A friend of the prince said his own life experiences has shown him how important it is to protect his family.