Prince William may have deliberately kept his battle with COVID-19 a secret so as not to raise the alarm bells over the line of succession. Speculations abound that if the worst case happened, Prince Harry could ascend to the throne and it would send the British public into a state of panic.

Roberta Fiorito and Rachel Bowie discussed in the podcast Royally Obsessed that it might have been the right call for Prince William to hide his condition last April despite the criticisms against it. Fiorito said that the Duke of Cambridge's decision could be in answer to a particular potential worst-case scenario.

The Queen is already 94 years old and does not have enough years ahead of her. Assuming she passed during this pandemic then her heir, Prince Charles, will sit on the throne.

However, Prince Charles contracted the virus in late March and risked his health since he's 71 years old. Had he died from COVID-19 then, Prince William would take the throne.

But Fiorito explained that if the Duke of Cambridge had been sick with the virus and also died, then Prince George will be the next in line as King. However, George, is still seven years old won't be able to rule until he is 21. His siblings -- Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis -- are also the next in line of succession but none of them are over the age of 18.

This crisis will call for the monarchy to apply the Regency Act, where someone over 21 can act as the King until George is of age. That someone is Prince Harry, while the next regent is Prince Andrew based on the line of succession.

Though Prince Harry stepped back from his royal roles in March, he's still in the line of succession. During the time he quit, his chances of becoming king was deemed "remote" but then no one was prepared for what happened next: the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bowie agreed with Fiorito and said that this Regency Act scenario will indeed bring panic to the British people, who are still reeling over losing Prince Harry to America on top of the public health crisis. Thus, the royal podcast hosts said that Prince William was right not to give the public any reason to worry about the state of the monarchy when he was struggling with COVID-19.

Fortunately, the Duke of Cambridge recovered from the virus and has gone back to performing his royal duties in-person and via video conference calls. In October, Prince William accompanied Queen Elizabeth for her first official engagement in public after seven months of lockdown.