Prince Philip parties on the Queen Mary 2 in Southampton
The Duke of Edinburgh will today join in celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the luxury cruise liner, Queen Mary 2, which will be making a rare arrival at its home port alongside its two sister ships.
The Queen Mary 2 was named by the Queen and Prince Philip in January 2004 when it became the flagship of the Cunard fleet.
The ship will sail into Southampton for the occasion accompanied by the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria making the Hampshire port the only place in the world to have hosted the "Three Queens" three times. Source: PA.
The celebrations will begin with an early morning birthday salute on the ships' whistles and end with a firework display as the liners depart in convoy.
Angus Struthers, Cunard's marketing director, said: "We're delighted to have the Three Queens come together in our home port, Southampton, to mark the first 10 years of the grandest ocean liner ever built - Queen Mary 2.
"Southampton is where Queen Mary 2 was named by Her Majesty The Queen in 2004 and Southampton has been the main UK departure point for Cunard's crossings to New York since 1919.
"So it is fitting that it is in Southampton that we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Queen Mary 2, which has become almost synonymous with Transatlantic voyages, and we are honoured that HRH The Duke of Edinburgh will be visiting this magnificent ship in celebration of this milestone."
During his visit, Prince Philip will meet staff in the ship's grand lobby before being given a tour of the crew areas including seeing crew training and visiting the staff bar where he will meet some of the workers.
He will then visit the bridge where he will sound the ship's whistle and sign the visitor's book. A reception will then be held in the Queen's Room where Prince Philip will unveil a new portrait of the ship and stand for a formal photograph with the current and former captains of the ship. He will then attend a private lunch on-board.
Since 2004, Queen Mary 2 has undertaken a total of 419 voyages including over 200 Transatlantic crossings, called at 182 ports in 60 countries and carried more than 1.3 million guests.
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