Fascinated by the ordeals of the rich and famous

It was, according to the reviews that gushed forth in American news media this week, a bombshell, a blockbuster, a jaw-dropper. A must-see event comparable to the Super Bowl.

But whether Oprah’s interview of Meghan Markle and that guy sitting next to her for a bit was a significant event that raised important questions about race, mental health and news media or merely a two-hour whine athon is a matter of opinion.

To be sure, it would be insensitive not to feel compassion for a woman who has suffered thoughts of suicide and whose private life was daily fodder for nosy tabloid readers. On the other hand, marrying a prince, owning a nine bedroom, 16-bathroom, $14,650,000 mansion and wearing a $47,000 Armani dress with $695 Aquazzura spiky pumps to share her tribulations with 17.1 million nosy television viewers seemed a bit ironic.

And it left some questions unanswered.

— Is the royal family dysfunctional? Maybe. Is yours? Possibly. Is mine? Definitely.

— Was there friction before the wedding? Isn’t there always friction before a wedding?

— Isn’t whether Kate made Meghan cry or Meghan made Kate cry the kind of question you’d expect to hear in a junior high girls restroom?

Meanwhile, I don’t understand why 17.1 million Americans tuned in. What’s the fascination about British royalty in a country conceived by rebellion against a British king?

American cable networks are overrun with programming about English crowns, royals, kings and queens. Viewers who tuned in to watch “The Queen’s Gambit’ probably were disappointed to discover it was about a chess player from Kentucky.

Americans who couldn’t identify their state representative know the names of toddlers in the increasingly-long line of succession to the British throne.

Every time a Windsor gets married, we set our video recorders to see how long the bride’s train will be this time. We gorged on “Downton Abbey” and drool over that British baking show, even though it’s from a country not noted for culinary excellence.

One explanation is that many Americans have English ancestors. Which is sort of true. According to World Atlas, “people of English origin make up 12.6% of the American population.” But then, people of German origin make up 14.7% of the American population and when’s the last time you watched a show about Kaiser Wilhelm?

Another justification is that we share a common language. But we say “potato chips” and they say “crisps.” We have elevators and they have lifts.

So I just don’t get the fascination.

That being said, it’s generous of the British people to share their royal family with us. And we’ve rewarded them by sharing a family of our own.

The Kardashians.