Even the curse of the British summer weather - rain, thunder and lightning - failed to dampen spirits as Southampton welcomed the world's newest cruise ship this morning.

The 141,000 ton Royal Princess made her dramatic entrance into Southampton Water just as the heavens opened and for a few minutes even her vast size was lost in the deluge.

Last year the same thing happened on the Royal Jubilee weekend and then in July as P&O Cruises celebrated its 175th anniversary with the fleet of seven ships in Southampton at the same time.

Flying displays by the famed RAF display team the Red Arrows were cancelled on both occasions due to low cloud and rain.

Next Thursday the Duchess of Cambridge will make her first visit to Southampton to officially name Royal Princess in a spectacular quayside christening ceremony in which she will swing the traditional magnum of champagne crashing against the towering hull of the vessel.

The Royal mum-to-be will become “Godmother” to the ship when she says the famous words, “I name this ship...”, next Thursday morning.

Video by Matt Pearce from Etch - view original version on Vimeo

Many hundreds of guests invited by Princess Cruises to be part of the celebrations will embark Royal Princess on the previous day for a gala dinner before attending a celebrity concert starring the singer Beverley Knight, and a stunning firework display beginning at 10.40pm.

With the Duchess Of Cambridge on board as guest-of-honour, guests will gather on the dockside for the ceremony, in which singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield is due to perform.

Escorted by two tugs spraying fountains of water into the air, Royal Princess made her way through the Solent yesterday before making a dramatic turn at Calshot and into Southampton Water.

Despite the torrential rain a few yachts and boats braved the weather conditions to shadow Royal Princess as she made her way to her berth at the Ocean Terminal in the city's Eastern Docks.

Red Funnel and Blue Funnel passenger boats were dwarfed by the sheer size of Royal Princess as she made her final approaches.

Nudged and shepherded by the tugs and using her powerful bow thrusters the Princess Cruises' vessel, constructed in Italy, undertook a 180 degree turn as she came alongside the Ocean Terminal.

On the bridge her master, Captain Tony Draper, working alongside a local Southampton pilot, eased the ship gently to a halt at the end of her voyage from the shipyard near Trieste.

By the time Royal Princess's mooring ropes were made fast the rain had stopped and the weather improved bringing a handful of people out on to the ship's open decks.

Far below on a Blue Funnel craft more than 40 Daily Echo readers, winners of a competition to be part of the welcoming party for the vessel, waved and shouted greetings up to Royal Princess.

The prototype of a new class of vessel designed to sail far into the 21st century will undertake two short preview voyages from Southampton before she leaves on her inaugural voyage on Sunday, June 16.

After leaving Southampton, Royal Princess will spend the summer cruising the Mediterranean before moving to the Caribbean for the winter months.

To celebrate the UK arrival of the ship, an orchestral performance featuring the Southampton Brass Band, was put on, conducted by a well known star.

Inspired by the Thames Jubilee Pageant in 2012, the Southampton Brass Band performed ‘God Save the Queen’, conducted dock-side by British actor, director and writer Simon Callow.

When she came into dock for the finale, the Royal Princess horn played the theme song from the Love Boat - the 1970s television show that helped make the line a household name.

Simon Callow CBE who has featured in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Shakespeare in Love, Phantom of the Opera, Amadeus and the Hollywood blockbuster Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls.

He said: “I was honoured to have been chosen to conduct. The biggest challenge will be to ensure the wind and rain conditions allowed for a flawless rendition of ‘God Save The Queen’ and ‘Love Boat’.  It was epic, to put it mildly.”