BUCKINGHAM Palace gave its seal of approval to the name of Southampton's latest liner, the £300m Cunard ship Queen Victoria.

Protocol demanded that the shipping line sought the personal agreement of the Queen before they could use the name for the liner which is due to arrive in the city at the end of next year.

Cunard's president Carol Marlow said: "The Queen graciously agreed to give us permission."

It is understood that the ship will be named in a dockside ceremony at Southampton.

It is not known yet whether a member of the Royal Family will continue the tradition of officially naming the ship after she makes her arrival on Southampton Water for the first time in December 2007.

"What I can say at this stage is that the naming ceremony and all the other events surrounding the ship's entry into service will be most suitable for a liner of this name and heritage," said Ms Marlow.

Construction is well under way in Italy on the 90,000 ton Queen Victoria which promises to be one of the most luxurious vessels ever seen in the long history of Southampton docks.

Queen Victoria will boast a series of firsts at sea including private boxes in her West End style theatre, a maritime museum tracing the history of Cunard and its ships, an innovative two storey library containing 6,000 books and a spiral staircase together with a colonial style conservatory fitted with a sliding glass roof opening to the sky.

Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, Queen Victoria's favourite royal residence, is the inspiration for the ship's spectacular Queens Room featuring crystal chandeliers and an inlaid wooden ballroom.

Ms Marlow said that the company would be studying the government's new anti-smoking laws to see how they would affect vessels at sea.

Cunard's president went on to say that there was no suggestion that Queen Victoria was being brought into service to replace the ageing QE2.

"We will keep operating QE2 as long as passengers want to travel on her and there are plans to retire her," said Ms Marlow.

"Cunard has the unique distinction of owning the most famous ocean liners in the world. This magnificent addition to our fleet would make Sir Samuel Cunard himself rightly proud. Queen Victoria will be a classically-styled Cunard Queen, offering the best of our heritage."