During a gathering with my children and their spouses last evening, this subject came up. One of my sons works in sports television so that's one of the prisms through which he sees the world.
He said the monarchy is basically a cross between being UK's team mascot and one of the lesser Kardashians.
Think about it. Like royalty, mascots have virtually no role with what's happening on the field of play, most people in the stands occasionally enjoy their antics but mostly tolerate them unless they get crazy obnoxious, little kids love them, they get trotted out for PR and social events, and when one moves on from the job a replacement is swiftly appointed and is expected to don the ridiculous costumes and behave very much the same way as his/her predecessor.
Like Kardashians, they receive a tremendous amount of money for reasons mostly unknown, are famous for being famous, are controversial, and the rest of the world is a little mystified by their popularity.
Edited to add: I'm not for or against the monarchy, nor do I hold strong feelings about the Queen. My heart goes out to those who mourn her passing - their loss is real.