THE QUEEN HAS OFFICIALLY NAMED CUNARD'S 92,000-TON QUEEN ELIZABETH LINER IN A GLITTERING CEREMONY IN SOUTHAMPTON TODAY. THE NAMING, BEFORE HUNDREDS OF INVITED GUESTS ON THE QUAYSIDE AT THE VESSEL'S HOME PORT, FOLLOWING A TOUR OF THE SHIP BY THE QUEEN. BUILT AT THE FINCANTIERI MONFALCONE SHIPYARD NEAR TRIESTE IN ITALY, THE VESSEL FEATURES MEMORABILIA FROM CUNARD'S FIRST QUEEN ELIZABETH LINER AS WELL AS FROM THE SECOND SHIP TO BEAR THE NAME, THE QE2. ON BOARD THE NEW SHIP THE QUEEN SAW, FOR THE FIRST TIME, A PORTRAIT OF HER PAINTED BY BURNLEY-BORN ISOBEL PEACHY, WHO IS BELIEVED TO BE THE YOUNGEST WOMAN COMMISSIONED TO PAINT THE MONARCH. THE PAINTING SHOWS THE QUEEN WEARING A NECKLACE AND EARRINGS, FORMERLY BELONGING TO QUEEN VICTORIA, WHICH SHE WORE AT THE CORONATION IN 1953. CAPABLE OF CARRYING 2,068 PASSENGERS AND 996 CREW, THE NEW, 16-DECK QUEEN ELIZABETH IS 964ft LONG AND CAN TRAVEL AT A SPEED OF AROUND 27mph. FEATURES INCLUDE AN 18ft PANEL CREATED BY THE QUEEN'S NEPHEW VISCOUNT LINLEY, ART DECO INTERIORS ECHOING THE 1930s' GREAT AGE OF OCEAN LINERS, AND A SHOPPING AREA FEATURING NAMES SUCH AS FORTNUM & MASON AND HARRIS TWEED. UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPTAIN CHRIS WELLS WHO EARLIER SERVED ON THE QEII AND CUNARD'S FLAGSHIP QUEEN MARY 2 (QM2), THE NW QUEEN ELIZABETH ALSO HAS AN 832-SEAT THEATER WHERE PASSENGERS WILL BE ABLE TO WATCH WEST END-STYLE SHOWS. THE SHIP LEAVES TOMORROW ON ITS MAIDEN VOYAGE, A 13-NIGHT SAILING WHICH INCLUDES STOPS AT LISBON, TENERIFE AND MADEIRA. TICKETS FOR THE FIRST VOYAGE WENT ON SALE ON 1.APRIL.2009 AND WERE ALL SNAPPED UP WITHIN 30 MINUTES. CUNARD'S FIRST QUEEN ELIZABETH LINER WAS LAUNCHED ON THE CLYDE IN SCOTLAND IN 1938 BY THE THEN QUEEN ELIZABETH, LATER THE QUEEN MOTHER, WITH THE PRESENT QUEEN, THEN 12 YEARS OLD, LOOKING ON. THE QE2 WAS LAUNCHED ON THE CLYDE BY THE QUEEN IN 1967. SHE WAS OFFICIALLY NAMED THE QM2 IN A CEREMONY AT SOUTHAMPTON IN 2004. WHILE THE FIRST QUEEN MARY SHIP, LAUNCHED BY QUEEN MARY IN 1934, LIVES ON AS A FLOATING HOTEL AND TOURIST ATTRACTION IN LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, THE FIRST QUEEN ELIZABETH MET AN UNHAPPY FATE. SOLD TO A BUSINESSMAN, THE VESSEL CAUGHT FIRE AND SANK IN HONG KONG HARBOR IN 1972. IN SERVICE WITH CUNARD FROM 1969, THE QE2 WAS PART OF THE COMPANY'S FLEET UNTIL BEING SOLD TO A DUBAI PROPERTY COMPANY ON 2008.
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