Queen Elizabeth 2
former ocean liner and cruise ship from the United Kingdom
Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) is a retired British ocean liner. Built by John Brown & Company on the River Clyde in Scotland for the Cunard Line, the ship was operated as a transatlantic liner and cruise ship from 1969 to 2008. She was laid up until converted into a floating hotel in Dubai.
Queen Elizabeth 2 plied the route from her home port of Southampton, United Kingdom, to New York, United States. She served as the flagship of the line from 1969 until she was succeeded by Queen Mary 2 in 2004. Queen Elizabeth 2 was designed in Cunard's offices in Liverpool and Southampton and built in Clydebank, Scotland. She was refitted with a modern diesel powerplant in 1986–87.
Queen Elizabeth 2 retired from active Cunard service on 27 November 2008, and was acquired by the private equity arm of Dubai World, which planned to begin conversion of the vessel to a 500-room floating hotel moored at the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai. Due to the 2008 financial crisis, the ship was laid up at Dubai Drydocks and later Mina Rashid. Subsequent conversion plans were announced in 2012 and then again by the Oceanic Group in 2013, but both plans stalled.
The public source identifies “Queen Elizabeth 2” as former ocean liner and cruise ship from the United Kingdom. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Queen, Elizabeth and former.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Queen Elizabeth 2”, the useful work is to connect “former ocean liner and cruise ship from the United Kingdom” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1244204. VIAF identifies the subject as 153542673. The Library of Congress control number is n50062740. Authority coordinates are 25.262, 55.281. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1969, 2008, 2004 and 1986.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Queen Elizabeth 2”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Queen Elizabeth 2 primary sources, Queen Elizabeth 2 archive and Queen research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Queen Elizabeth 2” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.