Queen Mary

Although a consort and not part of the direct line to the throne, Mary's maternal grandfather was the son of George III and had been fourth in line to the throne after Victoria. Queen Mary was the daughter-in-law of Edward VII, wife of George V, mother of Edward VIII and George VI and grandmother of Elizabeth II. Her steely resolution, complete dedication to the cause of the monarchy and great influence on lives linked with hers, explains, said her biographer, "the great mystery how Great Britain survived the eclipse of other European monarchies."

After his speech abdicating from the throne for the "woman I love," Edward VIII [David] returned to the Royal Lodge where his mother, sister and brothers had listened to his radio address to the nation. Despite the very emotional reaction of others in the room to David's momentous announcement, Queen Mary neither flinched nor winced. "Queen Mary showed no outward sign of emotion. When she prepared to leave, she turned to the son who had been king for ten months and said simply, 'Good bye David, God go with you.' She then turned to the second son, the lean, nervous, stuttering young man to whom she knew this unexpected occurrence was a severe blow, curtsied and said, 'God Save the King.'" [Matriarch by Anne Edwards]

Queen Mary was a bit more exercised when she had earlier learned of David's decision. Then in a conversation about it with Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, she exclaimed, "This is a nice kettle of fish, isn't it?" Baldwin agreed and pressed for David's departure.

RMS Queen Mary

Legend has it that Cunard intended to name their new ship 'Victoria', in keeping with company tradition of giving its ships names ending in 'ia'. When company representatives asked King George V's permission to name the ocean liner after Britain's 'greatest queen', he said his wife, Queen Mary, would be delighted. Left with little choice but to go along with the King's wishes, the delegation called No. 534, RMS Queen Mary. The Queen Mary was launched by Queen Mary in 1934. George V who came to watch the Queen launch "this grand and beautiful ship" spoke words that were to prove prophetic. "May her life among great waters spread friendship among the nations." Its maiden voyage to New York was on May 26, 1936, Queen Mary's 69th birthday.

During WW II rather than keeping the cruise ships mothballed, it was decided to use them as troopships. During this period because of its wartime grey camouflage livery and elusiveness, she received the nickname The Grey Ghost. Because of its size and prestige, Adolf Hitler offered the equivalent of $250,000 and the Iron Cross to the U-boat commander who sank her. No one collected on der Fuhrer's offer despite the fact that during WW II this great vessel carried more than 800,000 soldiers over half a million miles across some very troubled waters. She travelled alone since neither ship nor submarine could match her speed. Slicing through the seas at 33 miles an hour the Queen was the fastest afloat.

Mary resumed cruising after the war but became a casualty of jet flight. Following Queen Mary's retirement in 1967, she was sold for 3.5 million dollars to the city of Long Beach California where she steamed under her own power and where today she rides the tides up and down for she is permanently tethered as a tourist attraction.

We toured the ship and had lunch in Sir Winston's restaurant. There are 465 suites on the old cruiser, one of which, Winston Churchill's stateroom, rents for $500 a day. Matriarch Mary would have been pleased to know that the vessel she launched so long ago was refubished, still floating and filled with curious and excited paying people still enjoying what is now a great period piece.

RMS Queen Mary

Queen Mary 2

Mary Meeting Mary 2

Welcome Aboard Queen Mary March 1996 Queen Mary 2 November 2004

Ships' Bridges photos by G. Wilson

Double Dining: Mary (left) Mary 2 (right)

Mary Interiors: Queen Mary 2 photo by B.Wilson Queen Mary photo by G. Wilson

Queen Mary 2

The maiden voyage of the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York occurred April 16-22, 2004. This 1132-foot vessel is powered by over 150,000 horsepower. Queen Mary 2 has four whistles, - two on the funnel, one on the mast and one on the bow. Of the two whistles on the funnel, the starboard one is the original whistle from the Queen Mary, while the port whistle is an accurate but modern replica. The forward whistles can be heard for over ten miles and all whistles are tested every day at noon at sea.

Rearranging the deck chairs.

Unlike the arrangement of deck chairs on Holland America cuise ships which are placed back against the ship's bulkhead, Mary 2's deck chairs were located close to the railing so that those sitting had an unobstructed view of the ocean and were undisturbed by the frequent passage of walkers traversing the deck behind them.

Deck Chair on Mary 2 photo by G. Wilson

Libraries are a much-used place on all cruise ships and none could compare with the one on Mary 2. Large and comfortable, it was a perfect place to read and research. Holland America cruise ship libraries are smaller and are also centres for use of the Internet. Queen Mary 2 staterooms were wired and allowed access to the Internet from there, an excellent arrangement.

Mary 2 Library photo by G.Wilson

Stateroom photo by G. Wilson

Queen Mary 2's Dining Room Tapestry photo by G.Wilson

One of Queen Mary 2's Many Lounges photo by G. Wilson

Bill and Geri - A Formal Affair

Back

Copyright © 2013 Website Administrator