Well they had a lot of people on the payroll claiming they were literally chosen by God so they generated a similar amount of positive PR. There's suckers born every century.
No, not particularly. Aung San Suu Kyi, possibly? Went from martyr to democracy to defending genocide (and has since been detained by another military coup, but is getting somewhat less sympathy this time round).
It's difficult for people to comprehend in hindsight, but monarchies in Europe had a quasi-religious hold on the population. So not precisely good will, but definitely a cachet that can be burned down.