The death of Queen Elizabeth II is one of those special historical moments of near-universal feeling: a common, transcendent moment of grief, loss, and appreciation for a remarkable person.

Yet, there is a peculiarity about it all: why are so many affected by a person we have never met or known in any direct sense? And why do so many participate in the rituals of mourning and those welcoming a new monarch?

Of course, the role of a monarch in a media age helps answer these questions to some degree.