seriously tho, it's a hero worship thing... people want to look up to myths, if only to distract them from their insignificant lives.
then you have the media push - people want a story, and the media are only too happy to provide. i too think the media coverage is way out of proportion to how much people really care. this should be a page 6 human interest story, not the lead. but a baby prince sells more than changes in the unemployment rate or fiscal reform.