British paper aplogises over Prince Philip 'cancer' story

London, Aug 9 (PTI) A British newspaper Friday issued an
unreserved apology to the Royal Family over a story that
Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband, had been
diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The London Evening Standard said the "distressing
allegation" was untrue and constituted a breach of privacy.
On Wednesday, it reported the Duke of Edinburgh, 87, had
been diagnosed while being treated for a chest infection in
April.
Buckingham Palace welcomed the apology and the Press
Complaints Commission (P.C.C.) said the matter was now
settled, B.B.C. reported.
In its apology, the paper said the duke was "not
suffering from any such condition".
"We unreservedly apologise both to him and to his family
for making this distressing allegation and for breaching his
privacy," it added.
After the story appeared, the palace issued a statement
saying it was a "serious breach of Prince Philip's privacy"
and reported the case to the P.C.C., an independent watchdog
which deals with complaints about the editorial content of
newspapers.
Reacting angrily to the report, the Buckingham Palace
on Wednesday took the unprecedented step of denying the
front-page story, entitled "Prince Philip Defies Cancer
Scare".
The palace said that although it was its policy not to
comment on rumours regarding the health of family members as
they had a right to privacy, it had decided to deny the
Evening Standard report.
In April, Prince Philip spent three days in a hospital
where he was treated for a chest infection.