BRITAIN: Anchors Awry

The Queens of the Cunard Line used to epitomize royalty almost as much as the majesties that they were named for. Launched in 1968, the Queen Elizabeth 2 was never as regal as the old Queen Mary (now a dry-docked tourist attraction in Long Beach, Calif.) or the first Queen Elizabeth (which sank outside Hong Kong harbor last January, the victim of suspected arson). Still, the Q.E. 2 retained, in its original design, at least some of the proud aura of the days when Britannia ruled the waves. But a $4½ million...

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