At 3pm on Thursday 2 July, a ceremony to mark the Keel Laying of Cunard's gracious new Queen Elizabeth was held at the Monfalcone shipyard of Fincantieri near Trieste, Italy.

When she enters service in October 2010 she will become the third in a fleet of Cunard Queens and will join her sister ships Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. The Cunard fleet is the youngest in passenger shipping and defines a new Golden Age of Ocean Travel.

The keel laying is the placement in the dry dock of the first section of the ship's hull. This section is made up of six pre-manufactured blocks, weighs 364 tons and is fitted with 104 tons of pipes, cables, insulation and other equipment.

This ceremony follows an intensive period of design and development. 53 sections will be used in the construction of Queen Elizabeth and she will take to the water for the first time at her float out in December 2009 before her delivery to Cunard.