Royal courtiers at Buckingham Palace are persuading Prince Charles to step aside almost as soon as he would become the King after the Queen, which will pave the way for William to succeed to the throne, the 'Daily Star' reported.

According to them, 26-year-old Prince William, who will make his girlfriend Kate Middleton his Queen, is the only hope for the survival of the monarchy past another generation.

"He is the right age, the right man and it's the right time for the job before his best years are wasted marking time," a close aide to the Prince of Wales was quoted by the British newspaper as saying.

In fact, the "arrangement" has been prompted in part by Prince Charles' milestone 60th birthday in November when he officially becomes the oldest-ever heir to the throne.

"He has spent so much of his life just waiting. He won't impose that on his son," said the unnamed aide who is concerned that Prince William's golden years are also not wasted waiting to become the British Monarch.

William is now on a tour of military and Government departments in preparation. He has been invited to contribute to the Royal Family's own steering committee, the Way Ahead group, and is also being introduced to the Chequers Committee which controls the sovereign's estates.

And William will now undertake higher profile engagements, some with the 82-year-old Queen -- she calls it "letting him share in my sunlight".