About an hour after Kate Middleton went into labor, there were about 551 million Google News hits for the search term “royal baby.” A crowd of news media, many of them American, have been camping outside of St. Mary’s Hospital in London, the duchess’ medical facility of choice.

Google News Hits For Royal Baby
There were 551 million Google News hits for "royal baby" at 11 a.m. on Monday. IBTimes/Lisa Mahapatra

But how much do U.S. residents really care about news of the royal baby? Only about a quarter of the population, according to a report from Pew Global Research. This is in line with historical trends, the report states.

But by and large, most Americans say they do not follow news of the British royal family, according to polls Pew Research has conducted dating back to 1986. When surveying the public about news stories they are following, at least 60 percent have said that they are “not too closely” or “not at all following” royal news on seven different occasions.

The only exception to this lackluster interest in royal scandals and stories was the accidental death of Princess Diana. Here’s an infographic with more insights:

Royal Obsession
Only 25 percent of U.S. residents said that they followed the news of the royal baby very or fairly closely. IBTimes/Lisa Mahapatra
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