did not have...the history of England drilled into us as strongly in school as did/do those who live there

I suspect there's a difference between the "did" and the "do", Jackie. I certainly never had to learn every single English monarch ever. What possible value would there be to that? Perhaps in the days when any learning was considered A Good Thing, the attitude may have been different. The only remnant left in my schooldays was the occasional requirement to remember exact years and dates of battles and treaties and so on.

I'm sure all of us have had to endure some such pointless learning by rote.