“Wherever Queen Elizabeth goes, she makes waves. But rarely as she did on Tuesday, when she sailed into Halifax Harbour to review an international fleet gathered to celebrate her and the Canadian navy’s centennial.” That was the lede from Christopher Hume’s article about Tuesday’s fleet review by the Queen. While it’s a bit of a mystery as to why the Toronto Star‘s architecture critic is covering the royals in Halifax, Hume can paint a scene like the best in the biz. “Dressed in a white collarless coat and navy blue hat, Her Majesty looked, well, majestic. As she struggled out of her limousine, looking momentarily frail, it was clear she still has the ability, if not the power, to reduce a large crowd of sailors, politicians and even grizzled reporters to silence. Such is the mystique of royalty. Perhaps the affecting aspect of the day’s events was that it could not be seen from a distance; in other words, there was no audience on hand to witness the cheering of the sailors or see them standing at attention for what seemed hours on end. And yet, therein lay the meaning of the proceedings. The whole question of protocol and who has precedence over whom generally leaves us either amused or contemptuous. But for institutions such as the navy, they are of paramount importance. Without them, military organization wouldn’t work.”