Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, paid a visit to a cathedral in London on Wednesday to show their support for Ukraine as Russia escalates its war in the country. 

The Duchess was moved to tears during the emotional visit to the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in central London. 

She and Prince Charles met school children and other members of London's Ukrainian community as well as people involved in the humanitarian response.

They listened to a choir of mothers and children singing in Ukrainian before they lit candles and laid sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine, at the altar.

The Duchess hugged the visibly upset wife of Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko, telling her, "We are praying for you."

The royal couple were welcomed to the church by the Right Rev Kenneth Nowakowski, the Bishop for Ukrainian, Belarusian and Slovak Eastern Catholics. 

The Prince said he and his wife had been "deeply moved" by the visit, and assured those assembled of their prayers. 

"Thank you so much for welcoming us to this very special cathedral," he said. 

"I must say my wife and I have been deeply moved by everything we have heard today during our visit and above all by the extraordinary bravery, generosity and fortitude of the Ukrainian community in the face of such truly terrible aggression.

"So if I may say so, our thoughts and prayers, however inadequate they may be, are with all of you at this most critical time."

It is the second time in recent days that the Prince has condemned the invasion after speaking out against it at a ceremony this week to grant Southend city status.