The ship was ordered from the Fincantieri shipyard in 2011 . It is the third Royal- class ship . On May 15, 2013, the ship was laid in Monfalcone . The ship was undocked on February 14, 2014. On March 10, 2015, the ship was christened in Southampton by Queen Elizabeth II . The commissioning took place on March 14, 2015 as part of the maiden voyage with stops in Barcelona , Monte Carlo and Rome until the return to the home port on March 28, 2015.