Pine View Auto Group President and Dealer Principal Frank Romeo considers himself lucky to have met Queen Elizabeth II and even has a funny story of breaking protocol when he shook her hand.
It happened in 2010 when the Queen and Prince Philip visited Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto for the Queen’s Plate, Canada’s major thoroughbred race. It was the fourth time the Queen had been in attendance, and the first in 13 years, and it turned out to be the last time.
Romeo’s family bred and owned a horse in the race, Big Red Mike, and they had a chance to meet the Queen, who owned thoroughbred racehorses, when she did a tour of the walking ring.
Big Red Mike took the lead at the start and was never passed by the other 12 starters, winning at 5-1 odds.
The Romeo family was escorted to the winner’s enclosure, which included a podium on which the Queen stood with Romeo’s family and officials from Woodbine Racetrack, and she presented the trophy.
“There probably isn’t a more significant thing that can happen in our lifetime, really,” said Frank Romeo in an interview with Canadian auto dealer. “Obviously having your children and things like that (are really important), but for us to win the Queen’s Plate in the presence of the Queen and having the opportunity to meet her is just an unbelievable thing to happen for us. Having it all come together as it did was quite special for us. It was a once in a lifetime thing.”
Romeo’s entourage was not apprised of any protocols for addressing the Queen. When the track photographer asked the group to squeeze together, Frank’s father, Dom, the patriarch of the family’s automotive business, put one of his hands into the small of the back of the Queen.
When the presentation ended and the Queen was about to leave, Frank extended his hand and thanked Her Majesty for coming to Canada and making it such a special day for the Romeo family.
“She reached out and shook my hand, but afterwards someone said to me ‘you’re not supposed to be doing that kind of thing,’ but nobody said anything to us,” said Romeo. “You’re not even thinking straight. You’re just in awe of everything that’s going on and taking it all in. She was wonderful, she never said anything. It’s not like she looked at a security person. She just moved along as if it was a normal thing.
“We will remember that moment for as long as we live. Who gets an opportunity to have an audience like we did with the Queen?”
