Kate Beckinsale posts hilarious reaction as US site mistakes her for Duchess of Cambridge: 'William says hi!'

Kate Beckinsale was able to see the funny side when a US publication illustrated a news story about her recent hospitalisation with a photo of the Duchess of Cambridge.

The 45-year-old was admitted to hospital with a ruptured ovarian cyst over the weekend, and shared an update on her recovery with her Instagram followers last night.

In her post, she highlighted an article shared by American news site USA Today, which had used a smiling photograph of another famous Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, alongside the headline ‘Kate Beckinsale hospitalised for ruptured ovarian cyst’.

The actress, who is set to star in ITV’s The Widow this spring, said that she was “moved and touch” by the outpouring of public support she had received, and took the opportunity to poke fun at her new “royal” status.

“So moved and touched by all the kind wishes I have received over the last few days and staggered by the similar and worse stories my #cysters have been sending me,” she wrote.

“I am feeling much better and I hope all the other girls going through it are too.”

She then joked that she would soon be “back to resume [her] royal duties,” adding: “William says hi.”

Beckinsale’s followers responded in kind, sharing get well messages with the newly crowned ‘Duchess.’

“Get well soon Duchess!” one wrote.

“I see you had a royal title installed whilst they had you on the operating table. Now that’s what I call making the most out of a bad situation,” another added.

Others praised Beckinsale for managing to retain her trademark sense of humour during a difficult time, with one follower writing: “It would take more than being ill for you to lose your sense of humour lol you’ll be up in your castle in no time getting ready to be queen.”

“Even in sickness you still manage to be funny you are amazing,” another wrote.

USA Today apologised for the mistake in a comment below her post, revealing that a technical glitch had prompted the mix-up.

“First and foremost, we’re glad to hear you’re feeling much better,” they wrote.

“We apologise for the image associated with this story. It appears our system pulled the first image in the photo gallery at the bottom of our story, instead of the image of you we put in the story.

“It just so happens the lead photo in the gallery is of Duchess Kate. We regret the error and working to make sure this does not happen again.”

The actress shared a photo of herself in a hospital bed undergoing treatment earlier this week, captioning it: “Turns out a ruptured ovarian cyst really hurts and morphine makes me cry.

“So thankful to everyone who looked after me.”