hen John Eaton knelt at the foot the Governor General in 1915 and heard the words, “Arise, Sir Knight,” he knew that something fundamental had changed in the social status of the Eaton family. Sir John and Lady Eaton had arrived in the upper echelons of Canadian society.

In 1937, Lady Eaton was one of the select few Canadians invited to witness the coronation of George VI. The next year, she took her daughters to be presented to the King and Queen.

At the time Timothy Eaton began his retailing career in the 1860s, a shopkeeper – no matter how rich or successful – occupied a relatively low rung on the social ladder. He was “in trade.” No one would have dreamed of inviting such a man to meet the Governor General. By the time John Eaton inherited his father's mantle in 1907, that social fact had begun to change. The Eaton family's war efforts, their wealth and their regal style of life earned them a title and a new position in society.

Sir John died young, from pneumonia in 1922, at the age of 42, but Lady Eaton continued to live like royalty until her death in 1970. When she travelled to Britain, one of her seven Rolls-Royce limousines accompanied her, as did a maid, chauffeur, nanny and footman. During her grand European tours, she lived in houses formerly occupied by royals, and the Eaton children attended exclusive English boarding schools. And, while they never exactly “hobnobbed” with royalty, the Eatons were fixtures at exclusive garden parties, hunt clubs and royal events.

When she returned to Toronto, Lady Eaton brought more than a whiff of grandeur with her, and she entertained in royal style.

As a single instance – when her son, John David, was engaged to be married, she invited 2,000 people to a garden party and obliged her future daughter-in-law to shake hands with every one of them.

Lady Eaton knew that she presided at the head of an empire, and she conducted herself as a queen.