HRH will be given a tour of the ship ahead of a naming ceremony at the Port of Dover on 5 July.

Discovery will be the first cruise ship to be named in Dover for more than a decade and the first to dock at the port’s Dover Western Docks following a £250 million redevelopment.

HRH is also patron of Dame Esther Rantzen’s charity The Silver Line, which was adopted as Saga’a first national charity partner.

Lance Batchelor, Saga group chief executivec, said: “The launch of our new ship is a key moment in both the history and future of Saga.

"Carrying fewer than 1,000 passengers, she is a boutique ship that offers our customers and members the highest standards of accommodation, furnishings, cuisine and entertainment.

"I am immensely proud of what we have created with shipyard Meyer Werft.”

Sophie Andrews, chief executive of The Silver Line, added: “Our team is delighted to see this coming together of our patron and charity partner Saga.

"The Silver Line helpline receives more than 10,500 calls every week from vulnerable and isolated older people, many of whom have nowhere else to turn which demonstrates the depth of loneliness felt by huge numbers of the UK’s older population.”

Saga’s second new-build, Spirit of Adventure, will join the company’s fleet in 2020.