The
Queen is said to have expressed "surprise" that her daughter-in-law, Camilla,
the Duchess of Cornwall, has been invited to launch Cunard's new Queen Victoria liner at
a ceremony in Southampton next week.
History shows that all of the liners have been named by the Queen herself or a
woman who is destined to bear the title of Queen Consort.
In 1934, Queen Mary launched the original Queen Mary liner, while in 1938 King
George VI’s Consort, Queen Elizabeth (latterly the Queen Mother) named the QEI.
Following this tradition, Queen Elizabeth II launched the QEII in 1967 and,
more recently, the Queen Mary II in 2004.
Camilla will be accompanied at next Monday's ceremony by Prince
Charles, who is said to be delighted by his wife's increasingly high
public profile.
In reality, it’s questionable whether Cunard would have asked Camilla (rather
than the Queen herself) to name the Queen Victoria liner without taking any
advice from the Palace.
Comment: Joanne/Laura: I really looking forward to seeing the launch of the Queen Victoria. It is such an infrequent occurence to see a great ship slide down into the sea. I would truly love to visit or, even, take a cruise on it or its sister, Queen Mary 2.
The nearest experience I have had is to visit the Royal Yacht. Really superb to visit, highly recommended.
Name: Monika
Comment: This shouldn't surprise anyone. CH is forever finding honorary work for this honorary duchess. It's an easy, non-controversial engagement and after a few smiley photos she goes home to a G&T. And, the next day we read in the papers what a hard working member of the RF she is. Laughable yes, surprising no!
Name: valmae
Comment: Joanne: Thanks for an excellent article. In MO your last paragraph is probably true. I think the Palace seeming to express"surprise" enhances the coverage of the launch. A lot of photographers will be there!
