When Cunard Line’s newest cruise ship enters service in 2022, it will mark 20 years since it last had four ships in service simultaneously, while also presenting the line with a major problem in choosing a name that will sit comfortably at the cross-roads of brand continuity, public perception and British tradition.
For the oldest passenger shipping company in the world, with a celebrated British heritage, despite the fact that it’s now American-owned, the choice of name for the new ship, its largest ever cruise ship (Queen Mary 2 is larger but she’s an ocean liner), will be extremely important.
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There is speculation that she may be named Queen Elizabeth 2, or QE2, in honour of the line’s former flagship, which is currently being renovated as a floating hotel in Dubai, but it is unlikely that Cunard would reassign a name which is arguably as famous as Titanic.
With the current British monarch now 91-years-old, and with the new Cunard ship due for completion in 2022, that would make her 96 by the time it is launched.
If she is no longer queen by that time, Cunard would likely name the ship after her successor, either Queen Camilla, or Queen Catherine (if Prince Charles does indeed pass the throne to Prince William).
The Cunard tradition of naming its ships after Britain’s female monarchs is a long one, but the line has only ever had three simultaneously.
Even in the 1930s when the Los Angeles hotel ship RMS Queen Mary was its flagship, the only other ‘queen’ in the fleet was RMS Queen Elizabeth, so it may instead return to its convention of naming its vessels with names that end in ‘ia’ – famous examples were RMS Mauretania, Lusitania, and Aquitania.
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The safest and least controversial option would of course be Britannia, the name that it’s first ever trans-Atlantic passenger ship carried when Cunard Line pioneered the regular UK-US passenger service.
The fleet would look strange though, with three Queens and one commoner ship, and wouldn’t work well when Cunard holds its magnificent PR stunts with all three ‘Queens’ meeting at sea or in port to celebrate anniversaries or royal Jubilees.
When Cunard got its ‘three Queens’ together to sail up the Mersey into Liverpool to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the line, more than one million people gathered along the route. It’s difficult to see how a cruise ship not named after a Queen would fit into such events, such as in 2025 when Cunard celebrates 185 years of service.
Will it be billed as Cunard’s ‘three Queens and [insert ship name here]”? It all depends rather heavily on what unfolds in the next five years.
Scenario 1
Cunard Line sticks with tradition and gives its fourth ship a ‘Queen’ prefix, but steers clear of any dynastic dynamics and reaches into history for a female regent.
Assuming it steers clear of the Anglo-Saxon period and the English dynasties (Queen Mary I, Queen Elizabeth I and the disputed Queen Jane), Cunard Line will likely want to choose a queen from the period after England and Scotland became a united kingdom, but not the United Kingdom.
There are two choices in this regard, if the cruise line wants to honour a female head of state that was Queen in her own right, a Queen regent. There’s Queen Mary II, who reigned alongside her cousin, William III of Orange from 1689 to 1694, but that would create confusion with the current ocean liner Queen Mary 2.
Then there’s Queen Anne, who reigned from 1702 to 1714. She was Queen of England, and ruled during the Acts of Union, which brought the kingdoms of Scotland and England together to form Great Britain in 1707. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death in 1714.
Scenario 2
Queen Elizabeth II dies before the new ship is launched in 2022 and Prince Charles becomes king, following through on his insistence that the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles, be styled as Queen Camilla alongside him.
King Charles and Queen Camilla face considerable public backlash for the move, but nothing placates the British public and reinforces monarchical sentiment like pomp and ceremony, so Cunard Line gets behind the royal PR machine and names the ship Queen Camilla, with a launch and naming ceremony attended by the new queen.
When the QE2 was launched in 1969, the name had been a closely guarded secret, and was only revealed when Her Maj officially named the ship. This would be a great way for Queen Camilla to leave her mark and smooth the troubled waters during her early years on the throne with Charles.
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Scenario 3
In Scenario 2, the Queen has passed away before the launch of the ship, but Prince Charles has abdicated and passed the throne to Prince William to pre-emptively hold back a possible resurgence in Republican sentiment.
In this scenario, Cunard Line would likely name the ship after Catherine Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge. The ship would be named Queen Catherine in her honour and would reinforce Cunard’s long-standing and very close relationship with British Royalty. The line has used its British heritage and royal connections to set itself apart from the competition throughout the latter part of the 20th century and early 21st century.
Queen Catherine would be extremely popular and that popularity would rub off on the new cruise ship, adding yet more polish to the glittering Cunard legend.
Scenario 4
In the third scenario, the Queen is still alive when the ship is launched, or Cunard has decided to eschew getting embroiled in any of the uncertainty surrounding the crown and its succession. The new ship is named using its 20th century ‘ia’ naming tradition (former Cunard ships have included Carpathia, Lusitania, Mauretania and more recently Coronia).
In order to still give the ship a sense of ‘exceptionalism’ in the fleet alongside her ‘royal’ consorts Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, the ship would need to carry a name that evokes the line’s history, its profound sense of ‘Britishness’ and its pedigree as the oldest trans-Atlantic passenger service in the world.
In this case, Britannia, the same name carried by its first ever trans-Atlantic liner, would fit perfectly. It would need to be Britannia 2, though, because of P&O Cruises’ ‘MV Britannia’.
Perhaps that doesn’t work either? In which case, Scenario 1 seems the most likely.
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This is a mute point since the name Cunard have chosen is Queen Anne.
Personally I think its a poor choice as Queen Anne is easily one of the monarch least remembered by the general public. Anne is notable as the last of the Stuart dynasty and her reign saw the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. However, she is not considered significant enough to be included in the National Corriculum (the remit of subjects taught to children between ages 11-16 in most UK secondary schools.
In contrast, the current Cunad fleet includes the name of every Queen & Queen consort since 1837 with one exception – Queen Alexandra.
Alexandra was the longest serving Princess of Wales and much loved consort of King Edward VII. Known for her charm; generosity and considerable charity work, despite suffering increasingly from deafness in later life. She ‘broke with tradition’ by being a ‘hands on’ mother, was the first consort to ever listen to a debate in the House of Commons and tried to warn the British authorities about the growing ambitions of her nephew (the German Kaiser). She was greatly mourned upon her death in 1925 and many institutions (such as hospitals) still proudly bear her name.
Cunard’s next vessel (hopefully an ocean liner) should be named ‘Queen Alexandra’.
NB – Prince Charles will automatically become King upon the death of his mother. At the same time, Camilla (as his wife), will automatically become Queen. This is not dependent upon a coronation ceremony and can not be prevented or erased even by act of abdication. The same applies to William and Catherine. Until either lady become Queen, it would be inappropriate to give their name to a new liner.
…in response to me previous post, the answer is Letters Patent issued 30 November 1917 by George VI.
Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII. She was queen between Victoria and Mary (consort of King George V).
It would be inadvisable to call any ship queen Camilla as most people will never accept her as queen and she has done nothing to earn such an honour. Queen Alexandria on the other hand did much throughout her reign including forming the Queen Alexandria nurses. She worked tirelessly for the country
The “Titanic”‘s and the “Olympic”‘s sister ship was named “Britannia”. They,of course, were owned by the White Star Line (which was later absorbed into Cunard). The “Britannia” was launched in 1914. She never served as a liner because she was re-configured as a hospital ship (NMHS “Britannia:) in 1915 due to the start of World War I in 1914. She sank in 1916 after hitting a mine in the Aegean Sea.
I like the idea proposed above to name the sip the “Queen Alexandra”. She was the much admired (and very patient) wife of Edward VII. The story (which may or may not be so) goes that high-necked dresses became fashionable in the Victorian Era because of her; she wore them to hide a childhood tracheotomy scar.
I’m assuming that the suggestion of “Berengaria” above may be tongue-in-cheek. There was an RMS “Berengaria” from 1919-1938; she started out as a German liner, the “Imperator”, but was eventually transferred to Cunard as part of reparations for World War I. The “Imperator” spent WWI docked in Germany, then was seized and used by the United States as a troopship for soldiers returning from WWI.
The third of the Olympic-class trio was the “Britannic”, not “Britannia”, as White Star used an “ic” suffix in contrast to the “ia” suffix used by Cunard at the time.
Berengaria would be an interesting choice. A good nod to the past, but a name that isn’t very synonymous with the UK.
You are thinking of the Britannic not the Britannia. White star line and Cunard line were fierce rivals at the time and neither would adopt the naming style of their rival.
The third White Star Olympic Class liner was said to have been originally intended as the Gigantic, in keeping with the Greek nomenclature (Olympians, Titans… Giants). Alas, following Titanic’s demise, she was eventually named, “Britannic.”
I’m all for naming the new ship Queen Anne.
I think the new Cunard ship should be called MS The Queen Mother. It would be a fitting tribute to much loved person.
Her name was also Elizabeth.
Queen Alexandra would make a marvellous name for new ship!
It cannot possibly be the Britannia. For some strange reason Carnival allowed P&O to call their flagship by that name, despite the first Cunarder being Britannia.
Only one problem with them choosing the name Britannia; their sister company P&O already have a ship by that same name which the Queen launched not so long ago. I would wager that if they stuck with the traditional “-ia” Berengaria would be an excellent choice. She was after all Queen of England as wife of Richard I. Cunard could keep their tradition of having a queen liner and an -ia ending all at the same time!
They wouldn’t call it “Britannia” seeing as it would easily get confused with the P&O ship of the same name. “Queen Catherine” would be the best name for it.
…this issue was addressed over 30 years ago when I wrote a letter to Reg Abbiss, then President of Cunard, where I suggested that all future ships launched by Cunard be named Queen …; Elizabeth 2 was still present at that time, so I suggested Mary 2, Elizabeth (again), Victoria, and Alexandra…three out of four so far.
BTW, neither Camilla, Catherine, nor Meagan can be queens; as commoners, their highest title can only be Princess Consort, as Philip is currently Prince Consort.
I would be very interested to see your source for the claim that Camilla, Catherine nor Meghan could be queen consort. As far as I now, the wife of a King is automatically queen consort, whether they were born a commoner or not. Also, I believe that the title “Princess Consort” is not an official title in British royalty. Philip is only the Prince Consort because he is a man, so he cannot be titled as “King” as that would mean he would be more important than his wife, which is not the case. The same does not apply for women.
Not the Coronia. The Caronia, which is now sailing as the Saga lines Ruby.
The Saga Ruby (Vistafjord/Caronia) was scrapped last year