Cunard’s Jubilee tribute in pictures

There were hundreds of photographers, amateur and professional, taking pictures to record the historic arrival of Cunard’s three Queens in Southampton this morning.
Some, like me, were afloat on Southampton Water. A lucky few were aloft in helicopters. There were hundreds in the flotilla of small craft escorting the giants into port. And there were thousands more on land.
Here’s a selection of Cunard’s official images of the event, beginning with Steve Dunlop’s beautiful shot of Queen Elizabeth (top) with the Red Ensign of the Blue Funnel vessel Ashleigh R, which was in the welcoming party. I know how long he spent waiting for the chill morning breeze to help achieve this image – I was standing next to him.
Sister ship Queen Victoria is resplendent in the dawn light, even if the old adage about red sky in the morning threatens adverse weather for the Red Arrows flying display and the fireworks later tonight.
The moment when the three ships came together was the climax of a carefully-choreographed manoeuvre which had been thought out and planned months but which was difficult to capture perfectly in a single frame, although this helicopter shot comes close.
And this is the message that Queen Mary 2 is displaying across Southampton today from her berth at Ocean Terminal. It must have been clearly visible to Cunard president Peter Shanks, who watched proceedings from the roof of his office at Carnival House.