I’m kind of enjoying how the British press has turned this story into a huge crisis. The Princess of Wales is the “royal patron” of Wimbledon and for several years now, she’s handed out the trophies and runners-up plates to the singles finalists. When Kate became royal patron, she honestly stopped attending matches as regularly as she once did. In recent years, she will maybe show up for one Centre Court session during the fortnight before coming to the finals. Well, Kate has not turned out for Wimbledon yet – today is the second day of quarterfinals, and the semifinal matches will be on Thursday and Friday. It feels like everyone was fine with Kate missing the bulk of the tournament, but “who will present the trophies if Kate doesn’t show up” has become a five-alarm fire in the British tabloids. Nevermind that Wimbledon’s tournament director has already indicated that they’ll probably ask the Duchess of Gloucester to do it. But now we’re being inundated with Kate-as-tradwife content:

Princess Kate has stepped back from royal duties in January and is focusing on her health following her cancer diagnosis. But with Wimbledon in full swing, royal fans have been wondering if she will make an appearance at the championship.

Former royal butler Paul Burrell shared how Kate “knows the world will want to see her”, but “fiercely protective” Prince William “will decide whether she’s fit enough” to attend Wimbledon. Paul told Closer that it is “highly likely” that Kate, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, will attend Wimbledon as she is a “huge tennis fan.”

However, he claims the decision will ultimately be down to Prince William. Paul explained: “William controls this household and William will decide whether she’s well enough to do this because he’s the one that protects the family – fiercely. There’s no way he’s going to subject Kate to intrusion that she can’t handle. He’s so fiercely protective.”

He added that this “absolutely” stems from losing his mother when he was 15 years old.

Paul continued: “With William by her side, Kate’s safe because he will take care of her and would never let anyone harm her. I think she trusts William implicitly and he has the final say.”

There’s been a streak of this “William is controlling” narrative throughout the year. We heard that William “won’t allow” Prince Harry “anywhere near” Kate too, and there’s been consistent reporting that William is blocking access to Kate and that few people in the Waleses’ orbit have even spoken to her this year. Now, does William actually order Kate around and would he order her to skip Wimbledon? I don’t know. But it’s a weird story.