“I think it’s more the entertainment value.”
It’s more than that. Despite all the obvious dysfunction, a good number of Americans literally want to *be* part of that royal world. An acquaintance who works in college-applicant guidance at an upscale private high school told me that over the past 15 years there’s been a big surge in American students enrolling at University of St Andrews in Scotland. I asked why. He explained that in most cases their moms are obsessed with St Andrews alumna Kate Middleton and are sending their kids over there literally with the idea of duplicating Kate’s feat of meeting and marrying some royal or royal-adjacent.
I can see that.