When Princess Catherine Launched Her First Royal Navy Warship, She Followed a Proud Royal Tradition
Queen Elizabeth and her teenage daughter Princess Elizabeth christened ships both before and near the end of World War II
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Whether with red wine, champagne, or single malt Scotch, the ritual of naming a ship is a proud tradition in the British royal family, especially for royal women. On May 22, Catherine, the forty-three-year-old Princess of Wales, carried out the venerable naming ritual in the Scotstoun neighborhood of Glasgow on the River Clyde.
“May God bless her and all who sail on her”
Standing behind a Plexiglas podium as Prince William looked on, she said, “I have the pleasure to name this ship HMS Glasgow, may God bless her and all who sail on her”—the classic words used to “christen” a ship. She then pressed a red button to release a bottle of single malt whisky (made by the nearby Clydeside Distillery) that smashed against the hull to launch a new anti-submarine Royal Navy frigate.
It was the first Royal Navy ship launched by Catherine. As Duchess of Cambridge, she had previously christened the luxury cruise ship Royal Princess in June 2013—just a month before giving birth to Prince George—and in September 2019 she named the polar research ship Sir David Attenborough. But doing the honors for a Royal Navy ship is a prestigious task for a member of the royal family, and Catherine has taken seriously her role as sponsor of the 8,000-ton warship. She followed its progress as it was being built and in 2022 hosted a gathering at Windsor Castle of Royal Navy sailors to learn about the ship’s advanced technology.
“I’m still learning all my naval lingo”
After the naming ceremony, she and Prince William went aboard the ship and later visited the BAE Systems’ Shipbuilding Academy to meet employees and apprentices who had worked to build HMS Glasgow. “I’m still learning all my naval lingo,” she confessed. “There are a lot of abbreviations that I don’t fully understand.” Speaking to BAE employees, she said, “It’s a very proud day for me to see all the hard work that’s been going on behind the scenes.”
Watching a video of Catherine carrying out her duty with grace and dignity reminded me of two similar moments for Prince William’s great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) and grandmother when she was Princess Elizabeth, just eight years before becoming Queen Elizabeth II. Each of those ship christenings, the first in September 1938 and the second in November 1944, had a heightened sense of drama because of the shadow of war.
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