Buckingham Palace denies Prince Philip has prostate cancer

In a statement, the palace said Philip "has authorized us to confirm that the claim made by the Evening Standard that he has received a diagnosis of prostate cancer is untrue."

Citing anonymous medical sources, London's Evening Standard newspaper said the 87-year-old had been diagnosed in April after tests conducted while he was in the hospital for a chest infection.

Buckingham Palace said it was breaking a long-standing policy of not commenting on royal family members' health "because the damaging story is now being reported widely."

"We believe there has been a serious breach of the Duke of Edinburgh's right to privacy and we will be taking this issue to the Press Complaints Commission," the statement said. "We will be asking the PCC to remind all editors of their obligations."

Philip spent several days in the hospital in April with what officials said was a chest infection. He has since accompanied the queen on a series of trips and other duties, and royal officials said no changes had been made to his schedule for the near future.