With all due respect to the Northeastern United States, the north shore of Lake Ontario is the real New England. It was settled in the late 18th century by Tories fleeing the American Revolution - Loyal Americans, they called themselves, for their devotion to George III. More than two centuries later, their ancestors are still keenly British, remaining loyal to the crown.
Queen Elizabeth visited in 1984 to dedicate the Loyalist Parkway in honor of the pioneers who carried her great-great-great-great-grandfather's flame. The narrow streets of the city were mobbed. Marlene McCracken, chairwoman of Kingston's branch of the Monarchist League, was in the crowd. She is at every royal appearance, most recently Prince Edward's trip to Fort Henry last year.
"That's our history," McCracken says. "Canada is the way it is because we have a monarchy. Canada is a diverse country. We can appreciate other cultures more if we have those roots to fall back on."
McCracken was married on July 17, 1976, a day she remembers not just for the ceremony, but because it was the only time the entire royal family was in Canada, to see Princess Anne ride in the Montreal Olympics. That morning, McCracken was flustered because she didn't know how to do her nails. So she looked at a picture of the queen and copied her manicure.
Called "Limestone City," Kingston has a pillared City Hall, with a four-eyed cupola announcing the time in each direction, built from the stone. It's just up the waterfront from Queen's University where full-length photographs of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip loom over the Council Chamber. In the basement is the Royal Way, a gallery of memorabilia from the Windsors' visits.
The most colorful place to experience British Kingston is Fort Henry, built during the War of 1812 to protect the St. Lawrence from marauding American neighbors. In July and August, students dressed as redcoats perform the Sunset Ceremony with fife and drums, a drill squad, a mock battle, and fireworks over the river, to the strains of "Rule Britannia."
