Cunard celebrates Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee with a historic meeting of all their ships

by Gary Bembridge

Cunard celebrated Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee on June 5 2012 with quite some flair. They had arranged for all three Cunard ships that are in active service (Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria) to be in port in their old home port, and home of Cunard, in Southampton.

The event created a huge buzz and excitement, and Cunard fans packed the city and port to see the shops arrive in the early morning. They were also there for the fireworks and the planned fly past by the Red Arrows as all 3 left in the evening on various cruises. Due to the poor weather, Cunard fans saw all of this – except the fly past as that had to be cancelled.

The Royal family has a special relationship with Cunard. Queen Elizabeth II has named the original Queen Elizabeth 2 (retired and in Dubai), Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth.

I have been on all the ships and reviewed them. To read these click on the ship to see that: Queen Elizabeth 2; Queen Mary 2; Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. We are also due to sail on the Queen Elizabeth next month, and Queen Mary 2 over Christmas and New Year.

Here is a video made by Cunard of the arrival of the ships:

Here are some of the pictures shared on Flickr by those who were there at the Southampton event