Kim Kardashian appears to have entered the Kate Middleton chat.
The SKIMS founder has seemingly been keeping up with online discourse surrounding the Princess of Wales, who remains on hiatus from public duties amid her recovery from abdominal surgery and who continues to spur jokes and controversy over a recently released edited official photo of herself.
On March 16, Kim shared pics of herself, including one showing her standing by a vehicle. She captioned the Instagram post, "On my way to go find Kate."
The Kardashians star, who sports blond hair in the pics after appearing in public recently as a brunette, has herself been accused of photoshopping her photos in the past. Her post drew more than 500,000 likes, while her sister Khloe Kardashian wrote in a comment, "On my way to find out how you got so tall." Another user wrote, "Is Kimmy… trolling Kate Middleton," adding several laughing emojis.
Kim is the latest celeb to seemingly poke fun at the princess amid several rumors and conspiracy theories that have spread about in recent weeks amid her absence. They were fueled further when major photo and news agencies removed from their databases an edited pic of Kate that Kensington Palace had released March 10. The companies said the image, the first official photo of the princess since her surgery was announced in January, did not meet their editorial standards.
The Palace later released a statement from Kate, which read, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."
Blake Lively later appeared to troll Kate, sharing an edited pic depicting the actress lounging by a pool with one of her Betty Buzz drinks. "I'm so excited to share this new photo I just took today," the Gossip Girl star the March 15 Instagram post, later adding, "Now you know why I've been MIA."
A day earlier, another royal, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, joked about the photo controversy during an event in Zutphen. After a young girl told him she owned a photo of him and his family, he responded, "At least I didn't photoshop it."
The photo debacle and Kate's absence from public duties—which, as her rep reiterated Feb. 29, is not expected to end until after the March 31 Easter holiday—have also been the topic of late night talk show discussions and jokes.
Stephen Colbert noted on The Late Show March 12 how "the kingdom has been all a flutter by the seeming disappearance of Kate Middleton." Also that day, John Oliver shared his thoughts about the matter on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.
"I was out. I thought 'Let's all just ignore this, we've moved on,' until the Photoshop thing," the British-born Last Week Tonight host said. "Feels like you're almost handling it badly in an impressive way at this point."
John also joked, "There is a non-zero chance she died 18 months ago. They might be Weekend at Bernie's-ing this situation," adding, "I'm not saying it happened! I'm saying it's non-zero. Until proved otherwise. Until you see her with a copy of the day's newspaper."
Kate is not the only royal to stir online discussion in recent months. Look back at more royal news from this year below:
Returning to Public Duties
On April 26, nearly three months after sharing his cancer diagnosis, Buckingham Palace announced that Charles will return to public-facing duties.
Queen Camilla Attends Royal Maundy Service
The queen consort attended the Royal Maundy Service on March 28 in place of King Charles III, making her the first spouse of the Monarch to continue the ancient tradition.
Kate Middleton Shares Cancer Diagnosis
In a March 22 video message, the Princess of Wales shared that she'd been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing abdominal surgery in January.
"It was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful," she said before noting that tests after the operation found cancer had been present. "My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment."
Kate Middleton Apologizes for Edited Family Photo Controversy
After photo agencies pulled the picture Kensington Palace shared of Kate since having her abdominal surgery on March 10, the Princess of Wales addressed claims the photo was doctored.
"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," she tweeted on March 11. "I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day. C."
Lady Kitty Spencer Privately Welcomes Baby
Princess Diana's niece celebrated Mother's Day in the U.K. by sharing she and her husband Michael Lewis privately welcomed their first baby.
“It’s the joy of my life to be your mummy, little one. I love you unconditionally," she captioned her March 10 Instagram post. "Happy Mother’s Day to those who celebrate today."
Queen Camilla Takes a Break
After keeping up her full slate of engagements in the wake of her husband's cancer diagnosis, the palace cleared Camilla's schedule.
The Times pointed out March 2 that the 76-year-old didn't have any engagements on her calendar until March 11, when she'd be due at Westminster Abbey to observe Commonwealth Day.
Thomas Kensington Dies at 45
The husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor and ex-boyfriend of Pippa Middleton, was found dead Feb. 25. Days later, a coroner's inquest found that he died by suicide.
King Charles Diagnosed With Cancer
While King Charles III was in the hospital for his benign prostate enlargement procedure, the royal family member was diagnosed with cancer.
"His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties," Buckingham Palace said Feb. 5. "Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual.The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure. He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible."
Sarah Ferguson Is Diagnosed With a Second Type of Cancer
The Duchess of York's rep said in a statement on Jan. 21 that Sarah was recently diagnosed with malignant melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer. Several months prior, she underwent a single mastectomy to treat breast cancer.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Abdicates the Throne
On Jan. 14, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark made history as she officially abdicated the throne, handing the crown over to her son, now known as King Frederik the 10th.
Kate Middleton Is Hospitalized
Kensington Palace announced on Jan. 17 that Kate Middleton underwent planned abdominal surgery and was set to remain in the hospital for 10 to 14 days.
"Based on the current medical advice," the Palace said, "she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."
Prince William Adjusting His Schedule
Amid Kate's recovery, Prince William postponed a number of engagements as he supported his family, including the couple's three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
King Charles III Undergoing Treatment
Shortly after Kate's hospitalization was made public, Buckingham Palace shared that Charles "has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate."
"His Majesty's condition is benign and he will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure," the statement added. "The King’s public engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation."
Luxembourg Welcomes a New Baby
Princess Claire and Prince Felix of Luxembourg welcomed son Balthazar Felix Karl on Jan. 7, the first royal baby of the New Year!