The Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth has officially affiliated with the flagship of the UK’s Merchant Fleet, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, solidifying a long-standing relationship between the two vessels, according to a press release.
Beneath a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II aboard the Queen Mary 2, the ships’ captains signed the formal affiliation agreement in the presence of senior representatives from the Royal Navy and Cunard.
The two vessels, both named by the late Queen, first began developing connections in 2017 during the carrier’s construction phase.
The relationship between HMS Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary 2, the largest ocean liner in the world, has included sailor exchange visits and cooperative training exercises. The formal affiliation is expected to enhance this collaboration further.
“It is a real pleasure to see the long-standing relationship between the Royal Navy and Cunard Lines recognised through the affiliation of our two ships,” said Captain Claire Thompson, commanding officer of HMS Queen Elizabeth, as quoted in the press release.
“Cunard Lines have lent their maritime strength to the United Kingdom in times of war since their founding, and this affiliation is an important reminder of that shared heritage between country, industry and the Royal Navy.”
Captain Aseem Hashmi, master of the Queen Mary 2, reflected on Cunard’s long history of service alongside the Royal Navy. “Over the past 170 years, the heartbeat of the Cunard Line has been as one with the heartbeat of the Royal Navy. Cunard ships have answered the call of Great Britain in every major conflict,” he said, noting significant contributions during both World Wars and more recent conflicts like the Falklands War.
During World War II, Cunard ships, including the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth liners, ferried over 1.5 million soldiers across the Atlantic, with Winston Churchill crediting their efforts with shortening the war by a year.
The 65,000-tonne HMS Queen Elizabeth, now preparing for its first refit, was the Royal Navy’s flagship until recently passing that title to its sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales. Meanwhile, the Queen Mary 2, measuring 200 feet longer and displacing 15,000 more tonnes than the aircraft carrier, remains a centrepiece of the UK’s merchant fleet, maintaining its iconic route between the UK and New York during the summer.
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Reminds me of the signal passed between RMS Queen Elizabeth and the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth when their paths crossed during WW2. SNAP!
Only way to keep the RAF accommodation up to standard
What has this article got to do with the RAF ?
Is that to prepare for retaking the Falklands after we lose them again
We never did “ lose “ them . The argentines invaded were almost immediately cut off from their mainland by a naval exclusion zone making them effective prisoners waiting for the inevitable amphibious liberation of the islands only a few weeks later . Most importantly the Falkand Islanders never accepted they were lost . That scenario could not be repeated today .