e-bay constitution

I was watching a documentary on TV about Veit Harlan, the favourite film-maker of the Third Reich. This got me thinking about the way these empires and republics have been listed chronologically in the nations that have done away with their kings and queens. France is now in its "fifth republic", for instance. What is it with the British monarchy? Why does it almost seem to inspire longing (one might even go so far as to say envy), in the denizens of even stauchly republican nations when big royal events come along? For me, it's a bit like the e-bay phenomenon. In the past you threw stuff out, considering it worthless and surplus to requirements. Now you find that stuff you hung on to has a value, invariably deriving from its nostalgia value to others. You feel gratified about not binning it, and bask instead in what its fundamentally worthless essence has accumulated in perceived worth. So it is with the constitional monarchy. Long live the e-bay constitution!