Cunard's new Queen Elizabeth cruise ship prepares to hit the waves

The Queen Elizabeth sits at the yard where it was built in Monfalcone, Italy. She is Cunard's third new ship in six years - built in response to a boom in cruise holidays: with 1.5 million Britons booking last year. The debut cruise on the new Queen Elizabeth to the Canary Islands sold out in 29 minutes Photograph: Nick Cornish

Electricians, decorators, painters and cleaners rush to finish the ship before she sets sail for Southampton for the launch Photograph: Nick Cornish

The Queen Elizabeth is the latest state-of-the art liner to be built for American company Cunard. It weighs 90,000 tonnes and took less than two years to complete Photograph: Nick Cornish

Crew members carry paintings onboad to decorate the cabins. One final touch is the installation of a new portrait of the Queen in the art deco-inspired entrance lobby Photograph: Nick Cornish

The vast lobby of the new Queen Elizabeth. The ship will be home to two orchestras, an 800-seat theatre and six baby grand pianos - that all need to be tuned before she sets sail Photograph: Nick Cornish

The ship's kitchen where 141 chefs will prepare food to feed more than 3,000 people a day Photograph: Nick Cornish

Finishing off the onboard swimming pool. The best ocean view is from the Jacuzzi Photograph: Nick Cornish

The Queen Elizabeth docked at Southampton in 1946 prior to being refitted as a luxury liner after service in the second world war. Her Majesty launched her first Cunard liner at age 12 when she accompanied her mother to the send-off of the first Queen Elizabeth in 1938. She launched the Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1967, which retired to Dubai in 2007 Photograph: C. Woods/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images