Talk:RMS Queen Elizabeth 2

From Academic Kids

Many authorities ser she was named after an earlier war, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, rather than Queen Elizabeth II, who launched the ship in 1969, but some authorities associated with the war say she was, indeed, named after Queen Elizabeth II.

This is just SILLY. It's hardly information that's lost in the Dark Ages, it's less than 40 years ago -- surely we can find this out! Has anyone tried writing to Cunard to ask them? -- Tarquin 23:41 Jan 4, 2003 (UTC)

So, who were these ships named for, Shakespeare's Queen Elizabeth? The present queen, second of that name, was queen when the RMS QE2 was launched, but she was a little princess when the previous RMS QE was launched. Ortolan88

Check out the note here: http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:bRAPwcqoJBoC:www.zeitgaz.com.au/archive/000225/trends.htm+QE2+%22named+for%22+%22queen+elizabeth%22+cunard&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 -- isis 00:12 Jan 5, 2003 (UTC)

Interesting - it appears that there is some genuine uncertainty who the ship was named after, as reputable sources disagree with each other.

I'm still pretty much certain that "Queen Elizabeth II", with the roman numeral, is incorrect. I haven't seen any good source that suggests otherwise. Enchanter

Check out all the webpages with it the original way ("II"), and if that's not enough for you, go to the library and look in the paper encyclopedias. My Funk & Wagnalls, ©1972, has only the Roman numeral. (And did you look at the note at the link I put above, that purports to come from the ship's master?) -- isis 00:40 Jan 5, 2003 (UTC)

This quote, from the link above, seems so sensible it might even be the case, and should probably be in the article if we could come up with a name, of the ship's master who said it:

"The QE2 is named after Her Majesty and not because she is the second ship of that name. We use the Arabic figure two so that our name is not confused with that of the monarch when it is seen in writing."

Ortolan88

RMS Queen Elizabeth was named for Queen Elizabeth, then the Queen Consort of King George VI, later the Queen Mother. The earlier Queen Mary was named for the Queen Consort of George V, I believe. --rbrwr

The first ship was named for the wife of King George VI, aka Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The second ship was named after the first ship. It was no doubt considered a bonus that QE II was reigning then, but the QE2 was named after the ship it would replace, in the same way as the Queen Mary II is named after the ship it will replace. (The Queen Mary was named after King George V's wife. A probably spurious story has Cunard asking George for permission to name their new ship "after England's greatest Queen" -- meaning Victoria -- and George answering "My wife would be delighted.") -- Someone else 00:22 Jan 5, 2003 (UTC)

Two fish were swimming along in the Atlantic when a great shape passed overhead. "What was that?" said the first fish. "Queen Mary's bottom," said the second. "God save the King then," said the first. Ortolan88

According to Cunard's official website (http://www.cunard.com/onboard/qe2/first30years.asp?Active=QE2&Sub=SF), "The new ship is not named after the Queen but is simply the second ship to bear the name - hence the use of the Arabic 2 in her name, rather than the Roman II used by the Queen." -- Zoe

For some years after the ship was launched, its name was "Queen Elizabeth II"; that's the way we spelled it in term papers, and that's the way it appears in the reference books I have here. My best recollection is that in about the 1980s there was some kind of major overhaul, with a new "maiden voyage" for the refurbished ship, and that's about when it started being called the "Queen Elizabeth 2." The person I knew who had sailed on it then has retired and moved, so I can't check with him about when it was. Does this match what anyone else remembers? In the years when it was called "QEII," however, most authorities still said it was named for the old ship, not the current queen, but there were always a few reliable ones that said otherwise. BTW, didn't the queen "christen" it, not "launch" it, and didn't her mom christen the one named for her? -- isis 05:16 Jan 5, 2003 (UTC)

This page http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qwork=5484113&matches=5&qsort=r says the refit was in the 1990s, so I guess it wasn't as long ago as I thought. I found a picture in my encyclopedia from the early 1970s, and altho it calls it "Queen Elizabeth II" in the text, the side of the ship says "Queen Elizabeth 2." -- isis 06:20 Jan 5, 2003 (UTC)

qe2.org.uk (http://www.qe2.org.uk/history.html) says there was a steam-to-diesel conversion in 1986 and a major refit in 1994. Is that where the confusion arises? --rbrwr

It sure is -- thanks for clearing it up for me. I think that 1986 conversion and re-launch was when it generally went from "QEII" to "QE2" in the materials I was reading. So I suggest that as a matter of NPOV, we use both names (maybe noting "II" as old-fashioned and "2" preferred now) and say it's not unanimous but most authorities think the new one was named for the old one, not the queen. -- isis 11:56 Jan 5, 2003 (UTC)

We went through all this months ago, on one of the other talk pages, but I was outvoted then. I clearly remembered the ship being launched with the words, "I name this ship Queen Elizabeth THE SECOND". It's a relief to know my memory wasn't playing tricks on me after all. --Deb

I'll just point out that on 15th January 1969 the Royal Mail issued a set of stamps honouring "British Ships", and the 5d value is quite clearly labelled "RMS Queen Elizabeth 2" - I've just dug out my stamp album to check! Arwel 19:13 Feb 22, 2003 (UTC)