Cunard'S newest liner, Queen Victoria, will have her naming ceremony in Southamp-ton next year, the Daily Echo can reveal.

The company is remaining tight-lipped about who will undertake the official naming, but it is unlikely the famous shipping line will break the company tradition of inviting a member of the Royal Family to perform the ceremony.

The Queen named Queen Elizabeth 2 when the ship was launched on the Clyde in 1967 and she performed the ceremony again for Queen Mary 2 in a memorable Southampton dockside event in 2004.

At present, Queen Victoria is in the early stages of being built at a shipyard in Venice, but next month the liner's keel is due to be laid, signalling construction moving into top gear.

It is already known the 90,000-ton Queen Victoria will boast Cunard's distinctive black and red livery, while her design incorporates liner traditions of the past such as elegant public rooms - many on a grand scale - featuring rich wood panelling, intricate mosaics and gleaming chandeliers.

There will also be a grand, colonial-style conservatory, complete with central fountain and a retractable glass roof.

Memorable

Carol Marlow, Cunard's president and managing director, said: "Our transatlantic liners have been sailing from Southampton since 1921 and we are very proud of our links with the city, so it is very pleasing to be able to confirm now the location for Queen Victoria's naming.

"We can promise a very exciting and memorable event on Monday, December 10 next year, and look forward to releasing more details in due course."

Queen Victoria will feature many firsts for an ocean-going ship, such as traditional West End-style private viewing boxes in the Royal Court Theatre, a floating museum called Cunardia exhibiting shipping line artefacts and memorabilia, and a two-storey library, complete with a spiral staircase, containing 6,000 books.

The new vessel's entry into service means for the first time in the company's 167-year history that three Cunard Queens will sail together.

Queen Victoria will depart on her maiden voyage, which is already sold out, the day after her naming ceremony.

This ten-night Christmas markets voyage will leave from Southampton and call at Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo, Hamburg and Bruges.

Fares will range from £999 for an inside cabin, while passengers in the top-of-the-range suites will pay up to £8,679 each.