Andy Cohen wishes he'd kept his "mouth shut" before Catherine, Princess of Wales went public with her cancer diagnosis.

Andy Cohen regrets spreading wild rumours about Catherine, Princess of Wales

Andy Cohen regrets spreading wild rumours about Catherine, Princess of Wales

The TV presenter has called himself a "numpy" for getting caught up in the wild conspiracy theories which swirled around the internet before the 42-year-old royal shared a video revealing she is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer - and Andy has admitted he feels "heartbroken" by the news.

During an appearance on his SiriusXM show 'Andy Cohen Live', he explained: "I just want to say, I am heartbroken by the news about Princess Kate ...

"I think someone on Sky News called me a ‘numpty’ during that whole conversation and they were right. I wish I had kept my mouth shut.

"We are all praying for Princess Kate and King Charles [who is also being treated for cancer]."

He went on to add that he would have apologised sooner, but his show had been on hiatus and the episode this week was his "first opportunity back in front of a live microphone".

It comes after fellow US TV host Stephen Colbert previously shared his regret over being one of the famous faces who stoked conspiracy theories about the princess.

The chat show host, 59, used his ‘Late Show’ to share some of the wildest tales that were being spread online and he later insisted he regrets his remarks.

Colbert said: “There’s a standard that I try to hold myself to, and that is I do not make light of somebody else’s tragedy.

“Far too many of us know that any cancer diagnosis of any kind is harrowing for the patient and for their family.

“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."

Catherine - who has Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis with husband Prince William - has been absent from public duties since January and announced late last month that she is receiving cancer treatment.

In a video, she explained: "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.

"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 found 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."