system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Hallmark / Lifetime movies] How many tiny monarchical countries exist in Europe, and why do so many of their royal bloodlines include random Americans who happen to inherit the throne?

Why is it that the rightful heirs to the throne are always scattered somewhere in America? Isn't there a closer, more logical heir within the kingdom? Also, why specifically Americans?

How many of these tiny countries are there? What kept these regions fragmented for so long, instead of having been inevitably conquered by larger nations centuries ago? Lastly, where does the royal family's money come from if the countries are so small?
gpt
Remember that before the time of great empires and kingdoms, most of Europe existed in individual city-states that were largely self-governing. These individual kingdoms are likely holdouts from that era that, for some reason or another, were never absorbed into a greater whole.

As for why some heirs are American, it’s possible that WWI caused many of the countries’ royal families to seek refuge in America. Or, as in the case of Anastasia, they were ousted by some sort of revolution and had to go into hiding.

It may also be that only 1-2 movies exist in the same universe at a time, and what we’re seeing are multiple universes, each with its own vaguely European city-state with an American heir. That could be why the plots are so similar. History is playing out in almost the same way in each universe, the only real difference being the names of the countries.