Breaking News: 👑 Crown Watch: Is King Charles III Laying the Groundwork for Prince William’s Ascension? Here’s What’s Being Said.

Prince William may become the next king of England sooner than anticipated.

According to a Monday, March 2, post on journalist Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack, King Charles III — who has been living with an undisclosed form of cancer — is getting ready to hand the throne down to his son, 43, within the next year, sources said.

The institution is preparing emotionally, even if the paperwork hasn’t caught up,” a longtime aide told Shuter, adding that the Prince of Wales is “already king unofficially” in “many ways” due to his intricate involvement in the monarchy.

Shortly after Charles, 77, ascended the throne following Queen Elizabeth II’s death, he was diagnosed with cancer in 2024 — and Shuter’s sources cite health concerns as a reason for William to take over sooner rather than later.

Still, a senior courtier said, “The transition will look measured and dignified.”

A palace insider also claimed that the king wants to control the narrative, explaining, “Charles will not be seen as pushed. He has waited a lifetime for this role. When he steps back, it will be entirely on his terms.”

“If there’s a handover, it won’t feel like surrender,” a former palace adviser added. “It will feel inevitable.”

William’s wife, Princess Kate, has also been dealing with health issues of her own after she was diagnosed with cancer in 2024.

But the mother of three, 44 — who shares Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, with William — is throwing herself back into work following her treatments and has got “so much she wants to accomplish this coming year,” a source told Star in January.

“She’s the type of person that feels happiest when she feels useful, so even when she’s home resting, she’s usually working on something,” said the source.