The QE/QE3, an argument settled?

Awhile back now I wrote a blog posing the question why the new Queen Elizabeth was so named, rather than the more obvious QE3 to follow her predecessor the QE2.

Boy did that question annoy some regular Cunardians!
You can click here for anyone who wants to read the original blog, (along with all the comments from people explaining to me exactly why I didn’t know what I was talking about), but I now have the definitive answer to the question.......

As most of my regular readers will know I was lucky enough to spend Saturday night aboard the new QE, (a full review to follow as soon as I can figure out how to get the pictures off my camera), and it was while at dinner that I was speaking to a member of staff at Cunard, (whose identity shall forever remain anonymous), that I found out the real reason for the QE being named so.
Now obviously this all happened a long time ago and is now all based on hearsay and rumour but apparently when the QE2 was being named by Her Majesty she was supposed to announce it as the second QE, thus the name would have been just the Queen Elizabeth again. But she got the name wrong and called it the Queen Elizabeth the second, thus, (accidently????), naming it after herself. Apparently the directors of Cunard at the time had to very quickly order new logos, headed paper etc and most importantly get a two painted on the side of the ship so as not to embarrass Her Majesty.
So, when it came to naming the new one they couldn’t name it the QE3 because as of yet there has been no Queen Elizabeth the third.
I had to smile when I heard this story, I had a lovely mental image of a load of Cunard directors all standing just off stage franticly waving there arms and whispering as loud as they dared, “No, your Majesty wrong name, wrong name”!
Even if this story isn’t true and turns out to be just an urban legend floating around the offices of Cunard it’s by far my favourite explanation so from now on it’s the one I’m choosing to believe!

Strange but true.