It's Official: Her Majesty the Queen to Name Cunard's Queen Elizabeth

 Cunard's iconic funnel, as seen aboard Queen Mary 2.

Photo © Aaron Saunders

With the debut of Cunard's Queen Elizabeth just around the corner, speculation has been rampant about who would be selected to officially name the ship.  Many thought with a name like Queen Elizabeth, there would be only one clear choice.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

Indeed, Her Majesty the Queen will be in Southampton on October 11th for the naming ceremony of the brand-new 90,000-tonne vessel, sister ship to the 2007-built Queen Victoria.  The crowd lining the piers in the seaside town, located in England's Hampshire district, are likely to be considerable, as ship buffs and royal observers alike strive to get a look at their respective Queen's. 

 The beautiful city of Southampton, England.
Photo © Aaron Saunders

Her Majesty was only 12 years old when she accompanied her mother, the late Queen Mother, then Queen Elizabeth, to the naming of the original RMS Queen Elizabeth in September 1938.  That ship would sail on for thirty years before being removed from the Cunard fleet and suffering an inglorious fate when she capsized off Hong Kong in 1972. 

Far more successful was RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, which sailed for more than forty years before being retired in 2008.  Her Majesty had the honor of christening her, along with Cunard's most impressive liner to date, the RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004. 

With the launch of the new Queen Elizabeth, Cunard returns to a three-ship fleet for the first time since Queen Elizabeth 2 officially ended her career in Dubai, UAE on November 27, 2008.  Of equal impressiveness: all three ships will be docked in New York Harbor on January 13, 2011, marking the first time the three Queen's have been together at the same time.  To celebrate this occasion, a fireworks spectacular has been planned for the vessels' evening departures from New York.

For more information on Queen Elizabeth's inaugural sailings, including itineraries, pricing and detailed ship information, be sure to visit Cunard's website.