In a hot stuffy ballroom at Toronto’s Royal York hotel, Queen Elizabeth II unveiled of the gift she received from her Canadian government: a regal display of hockey souvenirs, including the puck she dropped at a 2002 game in Vancouver, that is bound for the Hockey Hall of Fame. She is “Canada’s most valuable player,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in his official remarks. And that marrying of twin national institutions—the monarchy and hockey—brought a crowd decked out in glittering evening gowns and black-tie tuxedos to their feet for a sustained round of hooting and hollering rarely seen at such a rarefied events as a state dinner.

The dinner for 356 guests which included  120 gold medal recipients, capped a dramatic day at the Royal York, the venerable home away from home for the royal family.