NEXT Wednesday Queen Elizabeth II takes over from her great grandmother and becomes the longest reigning British monarch. In a series of articles RUSSELL LEADBETTER looks backs at her majesty's connection with Glasgow and west central Scotland. Today it's the 1960s.

FOR days, bookmakers were taking bets on what the latest Cunard liner to be built at John Brown's yard would be called.

On the eve of the launch, a Glasgow bookie reported that thousands of Clydesiders had rushed to place bets on the ship being named after Princess Margaret.

Others wagered that the ship would be named after Sir Winston Churchill, Princess Anne - or even John F Kennedy, who had been assassinated in Dallas almost four years earlier.

In the event, more than 12,000 bets were placed, worth more than £3,000 - a sum that was worth a lot more then than it is now.

On Wednesday, September 20, the Queen arrived at Clydebank, and christened the new ship The Queen Elizabeth II. Only £200 of the total bets had gone for that option.

She and the Duke of Edinburgh had arrived at Glasgow Airport shortly before midday. They stopped en route for Clydebank at the gates of Erskine Hospital, where the couple spoke to a handful of war veterans,

After lunch at the yard, the Queen walked around the massive liner before climbing the stairs to the launching platform for the ceremony.

Some observers had thought there was not a lot of space between the still-to-be-launched ship and the far side of the shore.

One journalist wrote: "The Renfrewshire shore was discouragingly close and there looked to be hardly enough water in the Clyde to wash the new Cunarder's keel."

The uncertainty was caught by one exchange between one shipyard worker and his small son.

The boy fretted that there wasn't much space for the ship to be launched. Replied his dad: "Ach, we've put bigger boats than this in the watter, son."

By now, a huge crowd had gathered - some 30,000 shipyard workers and their guests.

It was, as more than one newspaper noted, the most important launch seen on Clydeside since the first Queen Elizabeth had been despatched down the slipway in 1938.

In the crowd were two young women - one a nurse, the other a pharmacist, who were on their way to Australia and had chanced their arm in trying to get tickets for the launch.

They had approached the yard the day before but were told the tickets had all gone.

As they prepared to leave, however, someone stepped forward and gave them two of the very last tickets.

Now, the crowd watched as the Queen revealed the name of the new Cunarder. Their cheers meant that she had to repeat her 'God speed' message.

She cut the ribbon that held the traditional bottle of champagne then pressed the button that controlled the release mechanism.

The QE2 slid forward by an inch, then stopped. "Gie' us a shove!" some wit shouted.

For long seconds, nothing happened. At last, however, the liner began to move down towards the water. Clouds of dust rose from the 1,400 tons of drag chains. More loud cheers. It had been another perfect launch.

Afterwards, the monarch went out of her way to praise the people who had been responsible for the QE2.

"The people who really deserve a toast today," she said, "are the designers and builders of John Brown's latest great ship for the Cunard fleet."

She added: "We hear so much about the new technological age and all the new industrial methods, but we seldom have an opportunity to see all the most advanced techniques brought together in the shape of one single product."

She was right.

The QE2 sailed the flag for Cunard, for Britain and for Clydebank for 40 years. It epitomised British glamour, and its passengers included countless international celebrities.

But it was finally retired and in 2008 it was sold to the UAE government body, Dubai World, for £64 million.

Plans were revealed for the ship to become a luxury hotel, but the economic crisis put those plans on ice.

Earlier this summer, Inverclyde Council called on the government to rescue the QE2 from its current home, in a Dubai dock.

According to campaigners, the once-proud ship is now sitting "filthy, forlorn and neglected."

In June, Jim McColl, one of Scotland's wealthiest and most prominent businessmen, was reported to be backing an attempt to bring the QE2 back to Britain.

Mr McColl was quoted as saying that plans to relocate the QE2 to Greenock were “absolutely achievable."