Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother extremely enthusiastic, and largely dissipated any residual feeling that George and Elizabeth were a lesser substitute for Edward. Elizabeth told Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, "that tour made us", and she returned to Canada frequently both on official tours and privately. During the Second World War, the King and Queen became symbols of the fight against fascism. Shortly after the declaration of war, "The Queen's Book of the Red Cross" was conceived. Fifty authors and artists contributed to the book, which was fronted by Cecil Beaton's portrait of the Queen and was sold in aid of the Red
Queen Elizabeth 2 original "Queen Mary" and "Queen Elizabeth" served as troop ships in 1941. On 18 June 2007, it was announced by Cunard that "QE2" had been purchased by the Dubai investment company Istithmar for $100 million. Her retirement, in part, was forced by the oncoming June 2010 implementation of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations, which would have forced large and expensive structural changes to the ship. In a ceremonial display before her retirement, "Queen Elizabeth 2" met the and "Queen Mary 2" near the Statue of Liberty in New York City harbour on 13