King Juan Carlos discharged

May 12, 2010, 12:29 GMT

Spain's King Juan Carlos has been discharged from hospital.

The 72-year-old monarch - who underwent surgery to remove a benign tumour from his lung on Saturday (08.05.10) - appeared fit and well as he walked out of the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona yesterday (11.05.10).

The king thanked the doctors and "all the people who looked after him" and praised his country's public health care system as he left the medical facility.

He will now return to Madrid for a few weeks convalescence before gradually resuming his official duties in the coming weeks.

Doctors confirmed earlier this week that the growth removed from the king was not cancerous.

A hospital statement confirmed: "The complete pathological analysis performed rules out definitively the presence of malignant cells in the lung nodules removed."

Among visitors to the king - who is married to Queen Sofia - was his son, Prince Felipe, who said he is "very happy" with his father's progress.

He said: "The king is recovering at a good a pace because he is a very good patient. He is already eating normally and has made it out of bed a little. We are very happy with his recovery."

Princess Cristina, one of the king's daughters, also arrived from Washington to be at the hospital.

She said: "I really wanted to see him. We spoke a lot on the telephone and he is doing perfectly."