Author Topic: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?  (Read 25484 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline Andy F

Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #15 on: Dec 01, 2011, 12:17 AM »
An excellent post Michael and thanks for the detail behind the name. 

It's interesting to think that had history taken a different turn then there would have been no QE2 but rather a Princess.  Had that happened then I suspect she would not have enjoyed the same longeivity or popularity as the connection with the reigning monarch (whether directly or indirectly), was a big part of her pulling power unlike it would have been with a 'Princess' prefix.

No-one can say for certain but I suspect it unlikely there would have been a QM2, QV or QE - indeed it's entirely possible that Cunard itself would not have survived as long as it has had Messrs Smallpiece and Senior decided otherwise.
Start every day with a smile and get it over with

Offline Isabelle Prondzynski

Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #16 on: Dec 01, 2011, 12:25 AM »
Thank you, Michael, for this superb historical collection and recollection!

What a wonderful and adventurous story there is behind the name and the naming... it is great to have seen it here in extenso for the first time.

Offline Bob C.

Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #17 on: Dec 01, 2011, 03:36 AM »
Thanks Michael.  This forum is quite fortunate to have you as a member!

Offline QE2forever

  • Advisor to TQS
  • Princess Grill Diner
  • ******
  • Posts: 620
  • Total likes: 663
  • Getting there was all the fun...
Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #18 on: Dec 01, 2011, 07:57 AM »
Thank you Michael for this very detailed piece of Cunard history.

I loved it!

Pat Curry

  • Guest
Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #19 on: Dec 01, 2011, 10:23 AM »
Thank you Michael for a most entertaining and informative answer.  I particularly like this quote from Cassandra:

" ... Queen Anne was a colourless nobody and Queen Victoria was a colourful somebody."

Make me think our current QV has the wrong name.  But then, what's in a name?

As to the letter (reply #9), thank you for clarifying that too in your reply #12.

Robert Fellowes got it wrong, it seems.  But before and after he held the office of Private Secretary to HM Queen, he was a banker ... need I say more?

Ah me  ::)
« Last Edit: Dec 01, 2011, 10:24 AM by Queet-two »

Online Michael Gallagher

Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #20 on: Dec 01, 2011, 10:24 AM »
Very true Queet-two!

Offline Twynkle

Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #21 on: Dec 01, 2011, 06:49 PM »
Thank you, Flagship - and a great big 'O my word'! :)
This is so much more than 'half the fun'!!!
Secretly, I thought you'd know - and yet thought too, that you mightn't think it appropriate to comment here!
Not in any wildest dream imaginable, did I expect such a treat!

Interesting to note that HRH Queen Elizabeth (the Queen's Mother) doesn't seem to have been an obvious part of Sir Basil's explanations!  Although as consort,  her name was also a significant reason for the name of RMS QE, wasn't it?

As you say, QEII wouldn't have worked - and '...the Second' on the hull would have been clumsy;
the reasons for the arabic 2 seem perfect, in every way.

Thank goodness she wasn't called 'anything of England'
(HRH Princess Margaret was known as Margaret Rose within her family,
however both names were not used with her title)

(After all the trouble he went to in making sure it was Queen Elizabeth on the piece of paper, HRH the Queen - in a funny sort of way, did do an 'Off with his head' to Sir Basil, didn't she?!!!)

Thank you again, your contributions are absolutely invaluable, if you know what I mean!
« Last Edit: Dec 01, 2011, 07:03 PM by Twynkle »

Online Rob Lightbody

  • Administrator
  • Queens Grill Diner
  • *****
  • Posts: 12375
  • Total likes: 15954
  • Helping to Keep The Legend Alive
    • Rob Lightbody dot com
Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #22 on: Dec 01, 2011, 08:02 PM »
Thank you so much Michael!!
Passionate about QE2's service life for 40 years and creator of this website.  I have worked in IT for 28 years and created my personal QE2 website in 1994.

Offline Lynda Bradford

Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #23 on: Dec 01, 2011, 08:29 PM »
The best name was chosen.  I could not imagine the ship being so successful with any other name.  

On the subject of bets, I wonder if the pay out would have been upheld for for QEII rather than QE2.  

More than 15,000 bets had been placed with the bookmakers and a Glasgow bookmaker was offering the following odds:

      3 – 1      Sir Winston Churchill
      4 – 1      Prince of Wales
            Prince Charles
            Princess Margaret
      5 – 1      Britannia
      6 – 1      Princess Anne
            John F Kennedy
      8 – 1      Queen Victoria
      10 – 1      Aquitania
      12 – 1      Mauretania
      14 – 1 Queen Elizabeth II     
            Prince Philip
            Atlantic Princess
      25 – 1      Clyde Princess
            British Princess
I was proud to be involved with planning QE2's 50 year conference in September 2017 in Clydebank

Online Peter Mugridge

  • Queens Grill Diner
  • *****
  • Posts: 3627
  • Total likes: 3481
  • At Mach 2 three days after being on QE2...
Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #24 on: Dec 01, 2011, 11:05 PM »
Michael, another fantastic insight to the story of this ship.

Please tell me, when is your book* "Queen Elizabeth 2 - The Definitive Illustrated History" going to be written and published?  I'll certainly buy a copy, weighty tome though it will be...



*The one we are all going to persuade you to write! ;)
"It is a capital mistake to allow any mechanical object to realise that you are in a hurry!"

Offline No 736

Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #25 on: Dec 02, 2011, 12:26 AM »
Michael, your knowledge of QE2 and Cunard is incredible and you are fast becoming the 3rd legend on this site.
Thanks Steve S.

Offline StuM

Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #26 on: Jan 01, 2012, 03:36 PM »
As to part of the original question of when the name use seemed to switch over to QE2, I recall Cunard itself had an early ad campaign and used the a new gold "QE2" type label. I suppose anyone seeing those ad's may have eventually begun to call the ship the same thing, for ease of speech. I think I have a copy of that ad and will try to dig it out and scan it.
StuM

Offline pete cain

Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #27 on: Jan 02, 2012, 05:44 PM »
  Talked my wife into buying a stocking filler for me for Christmas,    SS  ORIANA -- The Last Great Orient Liner.  Neil McCart, it appears that there was only 1 print run in 1992, don't know how long work had been going on for pre publication.

   I wanted this so as to compare Oriana & QE2, regarding their Aluminium upper works ( & possibility of expansion joints or not)

Funny how looking for one thing you come across another, regarding the Name Thing about QE2, an interesting quote of the above mentioned on Page 8 reads,
   
 ''For the town of  Barrow - in - Furness the launch of a great liner had always been an important event, but the launch of
   
ORIANA was something very special , for , not only were  the citizens to be honoured by a royal visit , but the ship itself was the largest passenger vessel to have been built in England, ( in what was part of the  kingdom ruled by Queen Elizabeth 1 ,which Scotland was not)''.

Read into that what you want,    A nice little softback , with lots of interesting info, &  nice photos some in colour, & still available on the web, however I didn't find the information I wanted, so back to the drawing board as they say
 
   
« Last Edit: Jun 18, 2012, 09:42 AM by Lynda »

Offline Mauretania1907

Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #28 on: Jan 11, 2012, 07:55 AM »
 ;D I always felt that the Queen might have had in mind that her grandmother (Queen Mary) and her mother (Queen Elizabeth) both had a ship named after themselves, so why not have a ship herself. Although Rob might be on the truth when he says Her Majesty had a 'slip of the tongue'.
The monarch's name includes the roman numeral. hence George I, George II, etc unless the reigning monarch has a name not used before. There is a lot of confusion between QE2 and QEII because of this. The ship is unique amongst other things named for Her Majesty the Queen in that the ship's name was supposed to have been plain "Queen Elizabeth" as told above, and named for the older ship, not the Queen.

Offline StuM

Re: QE2 or QEII? What's in a name?
« Reply #29 on: Jun 18, 2012, 12:54 AM »
Regardless of the name origins, etc. Each Queen has been unique and extremely famous in her own right. Each, very much a lady, much loved and with their own unique personality and quirks. Cunard and their exceptional crews and people are to be congratulated on their accomplishments over the last 170+ years.
Hardware, people, vision and execution all combine to build allegiance and legends. These ships and their keepers fit that model.

Thank you, all.

StuM