Princess Royal to join Cunard 185th anniversary in Liverpool

The Southampton cruise line announced that Her Royal Highness will lead the festivities on May 27, as Cunard marks 185 years of maritime heritage.

The celebrations will begin on May 26, when Cunard's newest ship, Queen Anne, arrives in the Mersey.

This is almost a year to the day since her naming ceremony in Liverpool.

Princess Anne to lead Cunard tribute as Queen Anne docks in Liverpool (Image: Getty Images) Cunard said it is "honoured" to welcome The Princess Royal for the first royal tour of Queen Anne.

The British Army Band Catterick will signal her arrival, marking the start of the celebrations.

The Princess Royal will celebrate Cunard's 185 years of maritime history, its bond with Liverpool, and the leadership of Queen Anne's captains, Dave Hudson and Inger Thorhauge.

Following this, Cunard will officially open its 185th 'Sea of Glamour' exhibition at The Royal Liver Building, joined by Queen Anne's Icons – five Liverpudlian women chosen to represent the city after Liverpool was named, in a world first, as Queen Anne's Godparent.

Ship builders playing football below the hull of the new Cunard Liner QE2 at Clyde shipyard in September 1967 (Image: Supplied) Curated by renowned photographer Mary McCartney, the exhibition will showcase the glamour, grandeur, and cultural heritage of life at sea through Cunard's illustrious 185-year history.

Katie McAlister, president of Cunard, said: "This is a landmark moment for Cunard, and we are incredibly honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness to Liverpool as we celebrate 185 years of our heritage.

"The opening of the Sea of Glamour exhibition is a fitting tribute to the elegance and legacy that define Cunard, and to the special bond we share with this great city."

The Sea of Glamour exhibition will be open to the general public at The Royal Liver Building in Liverpool between May 28 and June 17, before setting sail around the world aboard the Cunard fleet.

The QE2 cleaners pose together on deck in 1975 (Image: Jack Curtis) It will feature a collection of 185 photos of Hollywood icons, musicians, politicians, and royalty from the Cunard archives, alongside newly curated images from the public to form a timeline of nearly two centuries of transatlantic travel.

British photographer and filmmaker Mary McCartney will take the final photograph for the exhibition on May 27, capturing a portrait of Queen Anne's Icons in Liverpool on the day it opens.

The Icons are all proud Liverpudlians: Spice Girl and author Melanie C, broadcaster and community leader Ngunan Adamu, local restaurant entrepreneur Natalie Haywood, Liverpool music and cultural legend Jayne Casey, and British Olympian heptathlon athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

The exhibition will also include an immersive audio storytelling experience, transporting visitors to life aboard Cunard ships through the stories of guests past and present, as well as a striking sculptural installation, Sails of History, whose feature sails will be suspended mid-air in The Royal Liver Building.