On October 11, 2010, Her Majesty The Queen will name the Cunard Line's new Queen Elizabeth, the third Cunard ship to bear the name at a ceremony in Southampton. Following the Naming Ceremony, the ship will set on her maiden voyage the next day, to the Fjords.
This event will follow a history in which the Queen launched Cunard's Queens Elizabeth 2 in 1967 and named the line's current flagship, Queen Mary 2, in 2004. The Queen was also in attendance at the age of 12 for the launch of the first Queen Elizabeth on September 1938, with her mother, Queen Elizabeth.
Accompanied by her husband, King George V, Her Majesty Queen Mary was the first British Monarch to launch a merchant ship when she launched Queen Mary in 1934. Soon thereafter, Her Majesty The Queen, as Princess Elizabeth, launched Caronia, the "Green Goddess," in 1947, accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
In 1955, HRH The Princess Margaret continued the tradition, launched Carinthia, until years later, most recently, when Her Majesty The Queen named Queen Mary 2 in 2004, accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Then, in December 2007, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall named Queen Victoria in Southampton. Accompanying her was The Prince of Wales.
Visit http://queenelizabeth.cunard.com and www.wearecunard.com.