Cunard: The Most Famous Ocean Liners In The World

QM2 Cunard Insights™

4 Programmes available.

Howard Franklin
Howard Franklin is an accomplished expert and International Lecturer on British Heritage,The British Monarchy,and the Stately Homes and Gardens of Great Britain. Now retired,he was Britain’s foremost Proffesional Floral Designer,and his Company were often engaged to provide spectacular Floral Displays for important Royal events,including Weddings and other Official and Private Parties. On his Maternal side he comes from an Eastern European Aristocratic Family,being directly related to the Royal Family of Montenegro.His Paternal side were Landowners and Bloodstock breeders in North Yorkshire. Howard spends his time traveling the World and living in rural Shropshire,where his beautiful country house has been featured in many glossie magazines,including Ideal Home,House Beautiful and Homes and Gardens.Howard studied Art and has a National Diploma in Design also a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Fine Arts,He holds a Gold Medal from The Royal Horticultural Society,and is an International Judge,having judged at two World Flower Cup competitions. Howard was a lead Presenter for four and a half years on the popular B.B.C. Television daytime programme “Pebble Mill at One” and became a household name with the viewing public. An International Celebrity Speaker,he has traveled widely,having been around the World seven times. He has a vast collection of Royal Memorabillia and mementos,including gifts from the late Princess Grace of Monarco,The Empress Fara Diba of Persia,and many members of the British Royal Family including signed photographs from the late Diana,Princess of Wales. Howard’s Lectures are a fascinating insight into the every day lives of Royalty,both their private and public image,their homes and lifestyles are brought alive with guided tours of their homes and Royal Palaces.

Jerome O'Connor
A professional journalist and the U.S. Naval Institute Author of the Year, Mr. O'Connor specializes in revealing history making and history changing occurrences in publications and through presentations. A dynamic speaker and former actor, he was the first journalist to reveal the existence of five massive former U-boat bases in occupied France during World War Two. In 1978, for the Chicago Tribune, he disclosed the then unknown and intact central London war headquarters of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Feature articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, British Heritage, Naval History, Perspectives, World War Two, and other publications. Mr. O'Connor's best received programmes will be presented on this voyage.

Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is the author of more than forty books of fiction poetry, and critical essays. Her most recent publications are Moral Disorder, a collection of interconnected short stories and The Door, a collection of poetry (both 2007). Her novel, Oryx and Crake, was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize and the Giller Prize in Canada. Her other books include the 2000 Booker Prize-winning, The Blind Assassin, Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy, The Robber Bride, Cat’s Eye, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Penelopiad, and The Tent. Margaret Atwood lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.

Thomas Boyatt
Ambassador Tom Boyatt draws on a worldwide 30-year diplomatic career and 15 years in international business to discuss lessons learned, mistakes not to be repeated, and opportunities not to be missed. Born in Cincinnati, Ambassador Boyatt earned a B.A. from Princeton and an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Diplomacy. Following 3 years in the Air Force, he entered the Foreign Service in 1959 and served in positions of increasing responsibility in Chile, Luxembourg, Cyprus, and the State Department in Washington. In 1978 he was named Ambassador to Upper Volta and from 1980 to 1983 served as Ambassador to Colombia. During his diplomatic career, Ambassador Boyatt received several awards and decorations, most notably the State Department's award for heroism for helping injured passengers to safety and negotiating passenger release from Syria during a 1969 Palestinian hi-jacking of an American aircraft in which he was traveling. Since retirement from the Foreign Service, Ambassador Boyatt has been a Vice President of Sears World Trade, President of USDS, and a Trustee of Princeton University.