Queen to name Britannia by smashing bottle of English wine

Britannia

The Queen will name the new P&O liner Britannia in Southampton – by smashing a bottle of English sparkling wine.

The Duke of Edinburgh will also be at the ceremony on March 10 for the 141,000-tonne vessel which has the same name as the Queen’s former Royal Yacht Britannia – decommissioned in 1997.

The new glistening Britannia, which carries 3,600 passengers, is certainly fit for a royal. It has a multi-million pound art collection, a chandelier, 936-seat theatre, four pools and a three-deck high atrium (below).

Britannia

David Dingle, chairman of P&O Cruises parent company Carnival, said: “We are honoured and proud that Her Majesty will name Britannia almost 20 years after she named the P&O Cruises ship Oriana.

“Britannia will be the embodiment of contemporary Britain and with her Union Jack livery she will fly the flag for Britain across the globe.”

Food, in 13 places to eat, will be coming from the best chefs at sea… Marco Pierre White, Atul Kochhar and master pâtissier Eric Lanlard. Wine guru Olly Smith has chosen the wine and TV’s Saturday Kitchen James Martin and Queen of bakers Mary Berry will be among 10 celebrity chefs running a cookery school.

The liner leaves for her maiden voyage to the Mediterranean on March 14. As for the bottle of sparkling wine the Queen will smash, it will come from Wiston Estate Winery in Sussex.

Britannia