BRITANNIA NAMING BY HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH… AND ON MY BIRTHDAY TOO!!!

It’s official. After weeks of rumours, we now know for certain that the new P&O ship, Britannia, will be officially named in Southampton by Her Majesty The Queen, on 10th March 2015. It’s rather fitting that HM The Queen should be naming the new Britannia, after having bid farewell to the Royal Yacht Britannia on 20 October 1997.

The date is memorable for me too, as it happens to be my birthday (you’ll have to guess which one).

It could even be doubly memorable for me, as our elder daughter Emily is expecting her first child around the same time. Now that would be truly amazing to become a grandpa on the same day as the naming of Britannia.

Ship naming ceremonies are nothing new to me.

I was at the naming of the P&O Oriana on 6 April 1995 when HM The Queen said those magical words “I name this ship Oriana and may God bless all who sail in her”. The pomp and ceremony of a British ship naming is simply incomparable to any event. (The naming of Sun Princess in Fort Lauderdale, which I was a guest at, was not remotely in the same league of memorable events).

Then there was the naming of P&O Aurora on 27th April 2000 by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne. This was the one I almost missed. I was sat in the stand with my wife when I suddenly felt very ill and rushed from the stand, up the gangway, straight past a shocked Princess Anne who was stood just a few feet from me. Her bodyguards never even flinched when I dashed past them. What on earth they thought, I have no idea to this day. I missed the “live” ceremony, but watched the entire thing from the comfort of my cabin. It turned out that I had suffered an immediate allergic reaction to something I had for lunch.

One naming ceremony I did miss. I was due to attend the naming of Cunard Queen Mary on 8th January 2004, again by HM The Queen. On New Year’s Day, I developed a serious back problem which needed emergency surgery and I was unable to attend that ship naming, much to my disappointment. Events like this are really very memorable.

I know that Britannia will be a spectacular naming event, one that I’m not going to be at…   but then the flip side is that we too could be celebrating our own memorable event!!!

The Facts

Oriana named 6th April 1995. Size 69,153 GRT. 1,870 passengers.

Aurora named 27th April 2000. Size 76,152 GRT. 1,868 passengers.

Queen Mary 2 named 8th January 2004. Size 148,528 GRT. 2,620 passengers.

Britannia (to be) named 10th March 2015. Size 142,000 GRT. 3,647 passengers.