Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II christened many ships throughout her reign, both naval, scientific, and passenger vessels. The following is a list of all the ships she named during her lifetime, from HMS Vanguard to the Britannia.
- Princess Elizabeth launching the tanker ‘British Princess’ built by Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd, Deptford, 30 April 1946.
- Princess Elizabeth watching the tanker ‘British Princess’ sliding down the ways at the shipyard of Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd, Deptford, Sunderland, 30 April 1946
- HM Queen Elizabeth II attending the naming ceremony for new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2014
- Queen Elizabeth attending the naming ceremony for P&O Cruises Britannia in Southampton, England in 2015
List of Ships
As Princess | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Image | Affiliation | Date Christened | Location Christened | Status | Notes |
HMS Vanguard | Royal Navy | 30 November 1944 | John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland | Decommissioned, Scrapped, 1960 |
| |
British Princess | British Tanker Co. Ltd. | 30 April 1946 | Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd, Deptford | Scrapped in 1962 | ||
RMS Caronia | Cunard White Star Line | 30 October 1947 | John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland | Wrecked, Scrapped 1974 | ||
As Queen | ||||||
Name | Image | Affiliation | Date Christened | Location Christened | Status | Notes |
HMY Britannia | Royal Yacht | 16 April 1953 | John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland | Decommissioned in 1997, Museum ship in Leith-Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
SS Southern Cross | Shaw Savill Line | 17 August 1954 | Harland & Wolff, Belfast | Scrapped 2003 | *First merchant ship christened by Queen Elizabeth II | |
RMS Empress of Britain | Canadian Pacific Line | 22 June 1955 | Fairfield Shipbuilding in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland | Scrapped 2008 | ||
Queen Elizabeth 2 | Cunard Line | 20 September 1967 | John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland | Hotel Ship in Dubai | ||
HMS Invincible | Royal Navy | 3 May 1977 | Vickers Shipbuilding Limited, Barrow-in-Furness, England | Scrapped in 2011 | ||
HMS Lancaster | Royal Navy | 24 May 1990 | Yarrow Shipbuilders, Glasgow, Scotland | In service | ||
RRS James Clark Ross | British Antarctic Survey | 1st December 1990 | Swan Hunter Shipbuilders in Wallsend, UK | In service | Sold in 2021 to National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine, renamed Noosfera | |
Oriana | P&O Cruises | 6 April 1995 | Mayflower Terminal, Southampton, England | In service | ||
HMS Ocean | Royal Navy | 11 October 1995 | Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, Kværner (Govan) | Decommissioned 2018, sold to Brazilian Navy | ||
RMS Queen Mary 2 | Cunard Line | 8 January 2004 | Queen Elizabeth II terminal, Southampton, England | In service | ||
Queen Elizabeth | Cunard Line | 10 October 2010 | Southampton, England | In service | ||
HMS Queen Elizabeth | Royal Navy | 4 July 2014 | Rosyth dockyard near Edinburgh, Scotland | In service | ||
Britannia | P&O Cruises | 10 March 2015 | Southampton, England | In service |
Film Links
- HMS Vanguard naming & launching (1944)
- British Princess tanker christening (1946)
- Caronia naming ceremony & launching (1947)
- Britannia christening & launching (1953)
- Southern Cross christening & launching (1954)
- Empress of Britain christening & launching (1955)
- QE2 christening & launching (1967)
- Oriana christening (1995)
- Queen Elizabeth naming ceremony (2010)
- HMS Queen Elizabeth naming ceremony (2014)
Sources
- "British Princess (launched 1946) | Co-Curate". co-curate.ncl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- "Motor Vessel BRITISH PRINCESS built by Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd. in 1946 for British Tanker Co. Ltd., London, Tanker". sunderlandships.com. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- Pathé, British. "Princess Elizabeth Launches The 'caronia'". www.britishpathe.com. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- "Southern cross". belfasttelegraph. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
- Pathé, British. "Queen Launches Empress Of Britain". www.britishpathe.com. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
- "Cunard celebrates Queen Elizabeth II and four ships she launched, in photos". Los Angeles Times. 2016-04-26. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
- "The Queen and the Royal Navy: A golden thread running through our shared histories". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- "RRS James Clark Ross". British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
- "RRS James Clark Ross sold". British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
- "Oriana cruise ship to leave service in Southampton". BBC News. 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- "A song and a prayer as largest liner is named". the Guardian. 2004-01-09. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- Passenger, Cruise (2022-09-15). "Thank you Ma'am - how the Queen was a maritime champion, christening a record 21 ships". Cruise Passenger. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- Mathisen, Monty (2010-10-11). "Queen Elizabeth Christened by Her Majesty The Queen". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- "THE QUEEN CHRISTENS ROYAL NAVY'S NEW AIRCRAFT CARRIER". Britain Magazine | The official magazine of Visit Britain | Best of British History, Royal Family,Travel and Culture. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- "Queen officially names new cruise ship 'Britannia' - CBBC Newsround". Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- "Photo tour: Ship christenings with Queen Elizabeth II". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-11-23.