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History

Two of Cunard’s ‘Three Queens’ to display facsimile of Magna Carta

An exact replica of the Magna Carta is to be displayed in Liverpool by two of Cunard’s ocean liners in May.

A Royal Meeting: Each of Cunard's liners meet in Southhampton as part of the Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations

A Royal Meeting: Each of Cunard’s liners meet in Southhampton as part of the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations

The liners, defined as the most famous in the world, will converge on the River Mersey to mark Cunard’s 175th anniversary and Salisbury Cathedral will lend a rare facsimile of its own Magna Carta to the company for the occasion.

There are only four of the original documents – which were signed 800 years ago this year – in existence. Two manuscripts are currently held by the British Library in London, with the other two held by Lincoln and Salisbury Cathedrals.

The Salisbury copy will be shown onboard Queen Mary 2, Cunard’s flagship, in her Grand Lobby for five months from early May until September. It will move across shortly to Queen Victoria, from May 26 – 28, whilst the two liners, along with their sister ship Queen Elizabeth, are docked in Liverpool.

Liverpool has close links to the cruise line; the company’s headquarters were based in the city from 1840 until 1967 and around a third of the 11 million people emigrating across the Atlantic sailed from Liverpool between 1860 and 1900.

During the Second World War, the Lincoln Magna Carta moved to Washington D.C to protect it from German bombing and transported back to Southampton in 1946 onboard the earlier Queen Elizabeth.

The meeting in May will be the first time that the three liners have been together in Liverpool. They previously docked together in Southampton as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.

The Magna Carta, which means ‘The Great Charter’, is one of the most important historical documents. It established the ‘law of the land’ and the principle that everyone, even the King or Queen, is subject to the law. It also, for the first time, guaranteed the rights of individuals, the right to justice and the right to a fair trial.

The document written entirely in Latin and thought to have been first authorised by King John III in 1215. There is still debate today about how the King authorised it, although it is thought that he used the Great Seal as opposed to signing with a quill, as is often depicted.

Image Credit: Nige Brown

Featured Image Credit: Alexis Martín

About author

James is Royal Central's Director of Broadcasting and Communications. He's a recognised royal commentator and correspondent and has experience with numerous TV and radio networks including the BBC, ITV, Sky, CNN and MSNBC among others.