The Archbishop of Canterbury is praying for Catherine, Princess of Wales following the news that she is receiving treatment for cancer

Now, Justin Welby - who is the Church of England's most senior cleric - has praised the princess for her "spirit of optimism" in such difficult times and was thrilled to hear her say in her televised address to the nation that she was getting "stronger every day" following the diagnosis.

In a statement posted to X, he said: "My prayers are with The Princess of Wales, The Prince of Wales and their children at this tremendously difficult time. I join the whole country, and the world, in praying for her full recovery.

"I take this opportunity to praise her for her spirit of optimism in the face of such difficult news, and am pleased to hear that she is feeling stronger every day. Her bravery in sharing in this way and her continued commitment to supporting others speaks to her compassion and sense of service.

"Please join with me in praying for The Royal Family as they deal with this private matter and I would urge people to respect their privacy at this time."

She said: "I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you personally, for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I've been recovering from surgery. It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family. But I've had a fantastic medical team who've taken great care of me for which I'm so grateful.

Just hours earlier, Catherine revealed following weeks of speculation about her absence from royal duties that her diagnosis followed "major abdominal surgery" which led to the discovery of cancerous cells.

"In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London. And at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous.

"The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation on cancer had been present.

"This of course, came as a huge shock. And Wiliam and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.

"As you can imagine, this has taken time, it has taken me time to recover for major surgery in order to start my treatment."