Kate Middleton's no stranger to titles, duties and responsibility. After all, she is the Duchess of Cambridge, a soon to-be mother and now it looks like she can add the role of godmother to the list too. But before fans of the Duchess freak out over the identity of her godchild, they should probably know that Middleton is set to be the godmother of a ship — a cruise liner to be specific.
Her Royal Highness is set to name Princess Cruise's newest ship, the aptly titled Royal Princess, in a week-long ceremony set for the June 13, 2013. Yes, that's a lot of royal terms to toss around on the high seas for anyone trying to keep count.
"We are delighted that the Duchess will launch our new ship and can think of no better way to celebrate our company's British heritage and our commitment to the country," said Princess Cruise's CEO and president, Alan Buckelew in a release.
The Duchess of Cambridge joins a long line of British royalty and famous women responsible for christening cruise ships, including the late Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the late Audrey Hepburn, Helen Mirren, and the recently deceased Margaret Thatcher.
The Royal Princess will be Middleton's first ship christening and marks Princess Cruise's new wave of ships. The company doesn't plan on keeping things quiet, with Middleton's ceremony set to include performance by the Royal Marines Band and the pipers of the Irish Guards, among other traditional ship christening rites, notes the Sun Sentinel.
According to Royal Princess' spec sheet, the 141,000-tonne ship can accommodate 3,600 passengers and features amenities like the SeaWalk, a glass-bottomed walkway that stretched 28 feet over the edge of the ship (think the CN Tower's Edge Walk and glass floor combined together), a television studio and an on-board pastry shop.
The Royal Princess will make its maiden voyage on June 16 when is departs Southampton for Barcelona on a seven-day voyage.