Key West is full of queens — from beloved drag queen Sushi to the annual queen of Fantasy Fest, crowned for raising more money than other royal hopefuls for the Keys’ respected AIDS Help organization.

Wilhelmina Harvey (left) presents Queen Elizabeth II with a conch shell -- allegedly setting off a fateful series of events. (All photos by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

But during the week of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, it seems only fitting to recall the British monarch’s visit to the Florida Keys, and her fateful encounter with the unofficial queen of the island chain.

On May 18, 1991, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson, 70 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, on the royal yacht. There, they were welcomed by the late Florida Keys Mayor Wilhelmina Harvey — an iconic and beloved grande dame known for her candid yet slightly eccentric charm.

During the queen’s visit, Wilhelmina presented Elizabeth with a conch shell, the best-known symbol of the Florida Keys.

But the story didn’t end there — and it didn’t end well. Prior to her death in 2005, at age 93, Wilhelmina often recounted what occurred AFTER she gave the conch shell to the queen (although she was almost certainly too hard on herself, since there was never any valid proof of cause and effect.)

The queen and Prince Philip learn about the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson from a park ranger.

You see, legend has it that, if a conch shell is taken inside a home, bad luck will befall the family that lives there.

Of course, no one told Queen Elizabeth or her staff about this. So when they returned to England, the shell was allegedly taken to Windsor Castle along with other gifts she received during her sojourn in America.

And what happened next? The queen’s Windsor Castle home was badly damaged by fire in November 1992 and her two sons, Charles and Edward, were divorced amid the glare of unfavorable publicity.

Ever after, Wilhelmina jokingly said her fellow Conchs blamed her for what happen in England — all from the curse of a Florida Keys conch shell.

(Trust me on this: if you take a conch shell home from the Keys, display it tastefully in your garden or on your patio or balcony. Or in your gazebo or garage. But do not, under ANY circumstances, bring it into the house!)

If you look like these guys, seen cavorting onstage at Sloppy Joe's during the 2011 look-alike contest's final round, you could win a trip to Key West.

If Wilhelmina Harvey was the unofficial queen of the Keys, surely Ernest Hemingway was the unofficial king of Key West. And he’s solidly in the spotlight this month after the June 1 launch of the Virtual “Papa” Hemingway Look-Alike Contest on the Florida Keys’ Facebook page.

The contest’s premise is simple: if you look enough like Ernest Hemingway, you just might win a trip to Key West to prove it. Hemingway, as fans of the author are aware, lived on the island throughout the 1930s and wrote some of his most enduring works there — including the Key West-based “To Have and Have Not,” his only novel set in the U.S.

If you’re a stocky bearded guy who looks like Ernest in his later years, you can submit a photo to the contest section of the Keys Facebook page. The aspiring Ernest with the best “look” will win a four-night, five-day trip for two to Key West to compete in a preliminary round of Sloppy Joe’s famed “Papa” Hemingway Look-Alike Contest during the island’s annual Hemingway Days festival (a salute to the author’s literary talent and exuberant Key West lifestyle, set for July 17-22 this year).

Paul Gagnon displays his resemblance to Ernest Hemingway during a past look-alike contest.

Only one photo can be entered per contestant, so Hemingway hopefuls are advised to (literally) take their best shot.

Submissions will be accepted through June 22, with public voting scheduled for June 23-29 to choose 10 finalists. But the ultimate decision, to be made by July 2, is in the hands of a panel of authentic experts on “Papa’s” look — members of the elite bearded brotherhood of past look-alike contest winners.

So, while it’s not possible to be Queen Elizabeth (or even Wilhelmina Harvey or Sushi), if you’ve got the right look it IS possible to be a proud “Papa” … and by Key West standards, that’s royalty enough.