High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Queen Elizabeth 2, often referred to simply as the QE2, is an ocean liner that was operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Following her retirement from cruising, she is now owned by Istithmar (the investment company of Dubai World). She was designed primarily to run a transatlantic service from her home port of Southampton, England, to New York, USA, and was named after the earlier Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth (see Name section). She served as the flagship of the line from 1969 until succeeded by RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004. Designed in Cunard`s then headquarters and regional offices in Liverpool and Southampton respectively, and built in Clydebank, Scotland, she was considered the last of the great transatlantic ocean liners until the construction of the QM2 was announced.