Watch : Prince William, Kate anxious about becoming King and Queen amid Charles’s cancer diagnosis

In a recent revelation, a royal expert has claimed that Prince William and Kate Middleton are experiencing “intense anxiety” at the prospect of ascending the throne following King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis, according to a report by the Independent.

According to Tina Brown, the former editor of Vanity Fair, the news of Charles’s cancer has put the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in a “frightening proximity to ascending the throne.” The royal expert said, “The prospect of it, I am told, is causing them intense anxiety,” as quoted by the Independent.

The 75-year-old King Charles is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, while the 42-year-old Duchess of Cambridge has been attending engagements when her health permits. This has left the 41-year-old Prince William to step in and fulfil his father’s role during this challenging time, the report added.

Livemint could not independently verify this news.

Separately, it remains uncertain whether Meghan Markle will join Prince Harry on his trip to the UK in May for a special service commemorating a decade of the Invictus Games. Charles Rae, the former royal correspondent for the Sun, expressed his opinion that “Megan won’t set foot in the UK ever again,” stating, “I just don’t think she wants her to have anything to do at all with this country.”

Meanwhile, the report added that the King’s former butler had been forced to deny a fabricated story circulating on Russian disinformation networks, which claimed that Charles had sold the royal residence of Highgrove House to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for £20 million.