"I just looked up the stats on UK monarchy, and there seems to be a disconnect between how many do not wish to be governed by a monarchy and how many want the entire system disbanded.

Bill, the UK is NOT 'governed' by a monarchy - it is governed by the Government (the clue's in the name!) sitting in The Houses of Parliament. The monarch has no executive powers whatsoever, she merely acts as an 'advisor', a sounding-board, to the Prime Minister, and rubber-stamps the decisions made by Parliament.

The monarchy was stripped of its powers of government three hundred-or-so years ago (when the USA was still peopled mostly by Aboriginal Americans rather than a bunch of immigrants), signified by the King losing his head (literally).

The idea that the monarch is the equivalent to your president seems to be another American stupidity, pretty much on the same level of daftness as the standard American's conception that the whole of the British Isles is 'England'.