The Duchess of Cambridge will conduct her last solo public engagement later before giving birth in July.
Attending a ship naming ceremony in Southampton, Kate will become godmother of the Royal Princess when she smashes a bottle over its hull.
The Duchess, now in the final weeks of her pregnancy, will also board the ship for a brief tour.
Although it is the 31-year-old’s last solo engagement, she is expected to attend Trooping the Colour on Saturday.
A key figure missing from the ceremony, which sees the trooping of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards’ colours, will be the Duke of Edinburgh, who remains in hospital after undergoing an operation last Friday.
The Royal Princess, built at a construction yard near Venice, will be blessed in the ceremony, which will be attended by charities of which Kate, Prince William and Prince Harry are patrons.
The 3,600-passenger ship includes an over-water ‘sea walk’ and a top-deck glass-bottomed walkway, which extends 28ft beyond the edge of the ship.
The vessel, which will make her maiden voyage on June 16, also boasts the largest pastry shop at sea as well as poolside cabanas.
The naming ceremony is a long-standing royal tradition.
From the podium, she said: “I name this ship Royal Princess. May God bless her and all who sail in her.”
She then pulled a lever to send the traditional bottle of champagne against the ship’s hull.
The Queen named the Queen Elizabeth in 2010 and the Duchess of Cornwall named the Queen Victoria three years earlier.
[adrotate banner=”64″]
