There's something fascinating about The ROYALS

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has unleashed torrents of emotion around the world and here in the United States.

For a nation that waged a bloody revolution to gain its independence from Great Britain and put an end to rule by monarch in the states, why are many Americans today infatuated with the royal family?

Matthew Donahue, a Bowling Green State University professor in the popular culture department, believes the American public is fixated on the royal family precisely because they represent such an alien concept.
  "I think I would see the fascination with the royal family, particularly in America, as it's something different," he said. "America doesn't have a monarchy in that regard. I don't think you could draw a connection to the reality television aspect of it. I just think it's something that's different from American (political or social) culture, the idea of a royal family."

Queen Elizabeth II died Sept. 8 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at age 96 after serving more than seven decades on the throne. She was Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

The newspaper asked locals via social media to weigh in on the royal family. Some expressed interest in and admiration for the queen and her accomplishments while others believe monarchs are best left to the past.

Jacci Piper of Celina said she thinks Queen Elizabeth II was an icon who set the foundation for all women.

"She enlisted in her military, served her time as an auto mechanic even though royalty was not required, and took reign in the '50s," Piper wrote. "This woman spent (seven) decades modernizing her country, remaining politically neutral and creating the evolution of women leadership and dynamics. She did it all as a working mom, grandmother and inspiration. The women of the world lost a matriarch, not just England."

Tami Moehler of Coldwater said the monarchy interests her because her mother was born "there" and she has cousins over "there."

Others aren't so enthralled.

"Don't give the monarchy the attention it wants. We left for a reason to create the USA only to idealize them now makes no sense," wrote James Burch.

Ryan Schott, a Celina native living in Lima, wrote that he respects the royals and their positions but added "we started our own little country."

"Let's worry about people in our own country first before we go prying into the lives of other countries and their royalty," wrote Brent Bellman of Celina.

Donahue credited the queen's legacy to her unwillingness to partake in scandal.

"While there's a lot of emphasis on the younger generation of the royal family, what's interesting is that really the queen rose above some of the aspects and the drama surrounding some elements of the royal family today," he said. "I think that's something important to be noted, just in how she represented this stoic aspect to the royal family. She had this public persona, but it was a public persona that was not driven by scandal or drama. It was a public persona really connecting with service, service to the country of England. America's longest ally, England, she played such an important role and she was seen in the public eye through the lens of her stoicism and her good nature. She survived 14 American presidents."

The scandals in question were decades in the making and involved divorce, a death, allegations and hostility.

Despite the negative press, Donahue said the queen "was involved in none of that."

"She rose above all of that," he said. "She was in the public eye, but it wasn't due to scandal, whereas other members of the royal family have had either scandal or soap operas or drama in and out of their lives. The queen did not have any of that. That was something that should be recognized."

"She was known for her love of the United States and really how she prevailed over all this drama surrounding other members of the royal family," Donahue continued. "She wasn't involved in any of that. We've seen so many different American presidents come and go, but the queen and the monarchy did not."

Prince Charles automatically became king and will be known as King Charles III, it was announced. British monarchs in the past have selected new names upon taking the throne. Charles' second wife, Camilla, will be known as the Queen Consort.

A funeral was to be held after 10 days of official mourning.

"The world is in mourning," Donahue said. "It is important to note that she will be greatly missed and her role and the monarchy as being this stoic figure in the face of decades of trials and tribulations in the world is something special and something that should be recognized."

-The Associated Press contributed to this story.