Buckingham Palace is scrambling to deny the reports.
"On my way to go find Kate."
"I do worry about what happened to the truth."
The public absence of Catherine, Princess of Wales, has grown from a niche royal watcher concern to an international punchline in a matter of weeks.
It comes after a photo was withdrawn by news agencies amid claims it has been photoshopped.
"I do occasionally experiment with editing."
"At closer inspection it appears the source has manipulated the image."
"You have to really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful. It's not catty. It's cruel."
The Princess was spotted in public earlier this week.