A newspaper Friday issued an unreserved apology to Britain's royal family for wrongly reporting earlier this week that Prince Philip, the 87-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II, was suffering from prostate cancer.

In an unusual step, London's Evening Standard newspaper said on its front page Friday that the "distressing allegation" was untrue and constituted a breach of privacy.

In its apology, the paper said the duke was "not suffering from any such condition."

"We unreservedly apologize both to him and to his family for making this distressing allegation and for breaching his privacy," it said.

Buckingham Palace welcomed the apology and the Press Complaints Commission, to which the matter had been referred, said the issue was now settled.

Earlier this week, Buckingham Palace issued a stern denial of a newspaper report. The paper reported that Prince Philip was diagnosed with the condition while he was being treated for a stubborn chest infection in a London hospital in April.

"Buckingham Palace has always maintained that members of the Royal Family have a right to privacy, particularly in relation to their personal health. For this reason, we have always refused to confirm or deny the persistent rumours that circulate about their health, particularly during the quieter news months."

"We will continue to observe this long-standing practice; but on this occasion, because the damaging story is now being reported widely, the Duke of Edinburgh has authorised us to confirm that the claim made by the Evening Standard that he has received a 'diagnosis of prostate cancer' is untrue," said the statement.