No one really cares about William missing the World Cup final. This was about Harry – again | Zoe Williams

Ignore Piers Morgan. Most people aren't angry about the royal no-show - they just want to take our future king down a peg or two

A certain amount of indignation was only to be expected, post-World Cup, about the disparities in the treatment of the men's and women's games. Not to get too granular about it, because male footballers get paid so much that sometimes the world runs out of currency and has to top up their pay with panda cubs, and female footballers get paid slightly less than primary school teachers, I definitely expected at least some murmurs about fairness and equality, maybe even the spectacle of a Lioness bringing an equal pay claim to tribunal, which might not succeed but would be fun to watch.

The question I was not expecting was Where was Prince William at the World Cup final?", still less to hear it endlessly examined, by news anchors, bigmouths, football pundits and politicians. Who was the angriest, between Jon Sopel, who tweeted: Happy to accept might be impossible for the PM, given other commitments. But Prince William? Why?" and Piers Morgan, who went in on: With respect, YRH [Your Royal Highness], you should have got on a plane."

Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist

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