US talk show host apologises for Princess of Wales jokes

STEPHEN COLBERT, the American talk show host, has expressed regret after joking about the whereabouts of the Princess of Wales, insisting that he does not “make light of somebody else’s tragedy”.

Colbert, 59, one of America’s most prominent comedians, stopped short of a full apology after propagating scurrilous rumours about the Princess a few weeks before she announced she was being treated for cancer.

But he told viewers on Monday: “I do not make light of somebody else’s tragedy. I don’t know whether her prognosis is a tragic one, she’s the future Queen of England and I assume she’s going to get the best possible medical care.

“But regardless of what it is, I know and I’m sure far too many of us know, that any cancer diagnosis of any kind is harrowing for the patient and for their family.”

He added: “Though I’m sure they don’t need it from me, I and everyone here at The Late Show would like to extend our well wishes and heartfelt hope that her recovery is swift and thorough.”

Last week, the Princess, 42, revealed in a video message that after abdominal surgery in January, tests had found “cancer had been present” and she was having preventative chemotherapy.

Online speculation around her whereabouts, condition and domestic life reached a fever pitch after the release of a Mother’s Day picture of herself and her three children – and her subsequent apology for editing it.

Colbert was one of the US late show hosts who weighed in on the issue, saying on March 13 that “the kingdom has been all aflutter by the seeming disappearance of Kate Middleton” and sharing one of the social media theories.