"the vast majority of the time actually liked being ruled by a monarch"
Which really doesn't answer the effect of the cultural manipulation that undoubtedly took place. If you are conditioned to "like" something of which you have no knowledge other than that which you have had hammered into you throughout your conscious existence, is that "liking" or just accepting what has been fed to you without question?
For centuries the monarchy has been no more than cultural wallpaper covering the cracks and defects of our society; there to be rolled out in times of need.
I'm not questioning your description of 'how' it was Mike, just trying to understand 'why' it was, and how quickly the situation could change when the circumstances were right .
It's difficult not to remember the fact that the rebels who took over the GPO in Dublin in 1916 (Ireland was then a solid part of the British Empire ) had to be protected from jeering, missile-throwing Dubliners demanding to know why they "weren't with our lads in the trenches" and within eighteen months were lauded as national heroes, eventually leading to the treaty.
Jim Carroll