Editing Ceremonial ship launching (section)

===United Kingdom===
[[File:Eidsvold launch card June 14th 1900.jpg|thumb|upright|''Eidsvold'' launch card in [[Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums]] collection item 450/1, launched at [[Elswick, Tyne and Wear|Elswick]] 14 June 1900 for the Royal Norwegian Navy.]]

[[Ship sponsor|Sponsor]]s of British warships were customarily members of the royal family, senior naval officers, or Admiralty officials. A few civilians were invited to sponsor Royal Navy ships during the nineteenth century, and women became sponsors for the first time. In 1875, a religious element was returned to naval christenings by [[Alexandra of Denmark|Princess Alexandra]], wife of the [[Edward VII|Prince of Wales]], when she introduced an Anglican choral service in the launching ceremony for battleship {{HMS|Alexandra|1875|2}}. The usage continues with the singing of [[Psalm 107]] with its special meaning to mariners:<ref name="FAQ108"/>

<blockquote>
They that go down to the sea in ships;<br>
That do business in great waters;<br>
These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.<ref name="FAQ108"/>
</blockquote>

In 1969, [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] named the ocean liner ''[[Queen Elizabeth 2]]'' after herself, instead of the older liner {{RMS|Queen Elizabeth}}, by saying, "I name this ship ''Queen Elizabeth the Second''. May God bless her and all who sail in her." On 4 July 2014, the Queen named the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|R08|6}} with a bottle of [[single malt Scotch whisky]] from the Bowmore distillery on the island of [[Islay]] instead of champagne because the ship had been built and launched in Scotland. The [[Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall|Duchess of Rothesay]] similarly launched {{HMS|Prince of Wales|R09|6}} by pulling a lever which smashed a bottle of single malt Scotch whisky at the side of the ship.

[[File:240409h MV Glen Rosa launch.webm|thumb|right|CalMac ferry ''Glen Rosa'' launching at [[Ferguson Marine]] shipyard on 9 April 2024.<ref name="BBC 2024O4O8">{{cite web | last=Watson | first=Calum | title=New CalMac ferry Glen Rosa launches into River Clyde | website=BBC News | date=8 April 2024 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1w5e2vg8wzo | access-date=12 April 2024}}</ref>]]
At the 2024 launching of [[Caledonian MacBrayne|CalMac]] ferry [[MV Glen Rosa|''Glen Rosa'']], newly-qualified welder Beth Atkinson named the ship and pulled a lever to similarly smash a bottle, of single malt from the Ardgowan distillery at nearby [[Inverkip]].<ref name="BBC 2024O4O8" />

Shipyard ephemera is a rich source of detail concerning a launch and this was often material produced for the audience of the day and then thrown away. [[Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums]] has many of these items from Tyne and Wear shipyards. A number can be seen in [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:ListFiles/TWAMWIR Commons]. The 1900 piece for {{HNoMS|Eidsvold||2}} reproduced in this article lists a woman performing the launch.