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Cunard's three Queens arrived in style to Southampton's port today, ready to welcome the Duke of Edinburgh.

The iconic liners arrived together at first light to begin a day of spectacular celebration to mark Queen Mary 2's 10th birthday.

As the birthday girl arrived in port alongside Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, Happy Birthday was played using the ships' foghorns.

Celebrating in style: The three Queens came together for the third time in their history at Southampton to mark the 10th anniversary of Queen Mary 2

Iconic: The three ships celebrate the golden age of ocean travel and are known for being quintessentially English

Rare glimpse: The sun came out to welcome the three iconic ships that make up Cunard's luxury fleet

The ships are rarely seen together, but have reunited for the anniversary celebration, which will see the Duke of Edinburgh attend a special reception.

He was last on the Queen Mary 2 in 2004, when he accompanied the Queen to name Cunard's flagship.

With the three sisters in port today, Southampton will become the only port in the world to have welcomed all three ships at the same time on three separate occasion.

The last time they were all on the South Coast was to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Tight squeeze: The 'Queen Mary 2 (L) ocean liner sails into dock alongside her sisters ships 'Queen Elizabeth' (C) and 'Queen Victoria' (R)

Heritage liners: The three ships arrived in style this morning and will be leaving as a fleet to sail down to the Solent together

Dawn arrival: Cunard celebrated the 10th anniversary of its flagship, Queen Mary 2 with the arrival of the whole fleet in Southampton

The birthday party today will include a 10-minute firework display from 10pm  - one minute for each of the ship's 10 years  - the Queen Mary 2 leads her sisters in a spectacular convoy down to the Solent. 

From there Queen Mary 2 will set off an a special anniversary transatlantic crossing to New York with QM2 designer Stephen Payne and the ship's first master, Commodore Ron Warwick, among the speakers.

Queen Elizabeth will sail on a short break to Hamburg and Queen Victoria will head for the Baltic capitals.

Earlier this week the glamorous sisters took part in their first photoshoot all together at sea.

As they sailed from Lisbon, where the three ships had met to make the journey together to Southampton, they were captured for thr first time ever sailing in formation.

While the three ships have - on rare occasions - been photographed together before, it was the first time a shoot has been undertaken to capture them all sailing together. And it took months of meticulous planning.

Photographer James Morgan took to the skies in a helicopter to capture the iconic shots of the three ships sailing abreast as they make their way from Lisbon, their last port of call before their grand entrance into Southampton.

Sister act: Queen Mary 2 and her sister ships Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria sail in formation from Lisbon

A Royal first: It is the first time the sister ships have been snapped sailing together in formation and took months of planning to set up

Mary 2 was on the final leg of her World Cruise and her sister ships were on hand to escort her home in style.

The three ships had been moored together in Lisbon after arriving for their reunion and certainly drew crowds as people snapped pictures of the rare family portrait.

Images shot from rooftops in the famously hilly city show this triumvirate of sisters pulled to shore just east of Lisbon's famous 25 de Abril suspension bridge.

Leading lady: Queen Mary 2 takes position in the centre of the fleet as the three liners head to Southampton

Reunion: The threesome last met up in June 2012, when they turned up en masse in Southampton to mark the Queen¿s Diamond Jubilee with a display of unity

Pulling ahead: Queen Mary 2 pulls ahead as the ships make their way towards the English coastline for the liner's 10th anniversary

The threesome last met up in June 2012, when they turned up en masse in Southampton to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee with a display of unity.

They also managed to synchronise diaries in January 2011, appearing together in front of the Statue of Liberty – after Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth had sailed across the Atlantic in tandem to meet their sibling alongside New York's most fabled landmark.

Although close relations, the ships have distinct differences.

Quite the line-up: All three of Cunard's grand ocean liners are currently docked in Lisbon - from left to right Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2

I saw three ships come sailing in: It isn't Christmas Day in the morning in Lisbon, but the arrival of all three Cunard liners at the same time has been a cause for applause

Queen Mary 2 is the matriarch of the group – and the biggest.

Launched in March 2003, she is capable of holding up to 2620 passengers, and is the largest vessel ever to have been built for Cunard.

She is also four years older than her nearest relative Queen Victoria, who was completed in January 2007, and is smaller than the QM2, with a capacity of 2014 people.

The baby of the bunch is Queen Elizabeth.

Queen of all she surveys: Queen Mary 2 is the biggest ever liner to be built for Cunard - and was the star of the show when she lined up with her sisters earlier today

A royal welcome: Queen Elizabeth is the youngest of the three vessels, having been launched as recently as January 2010 - effectively as a replacement for the QE2

Constructed, effectively, as a replacement for her near-namesake Queen Elizabeth 2 (the QE2) – the grand dame of the seas who was retired in 2008 – she first sailed in January 2010, and is able to transport 2092 holidaymakers.

Although all three arrived in Lisbon from separate locations – the QM2 from Rome's Civitavecchia port, Queen Victoria from Tenerife, Queen Elizabeth from Palma de Mallorca – they departed for Southampton together.

Taking in the panorama: A crowd has gathered on elevated viewpoints in the Portuguese capital to catch a glimpse of this rare Cunard family portrait

Ready for the off: While the three ships have met up in Lisbon, they will not be in Portugal for long. They will all set sail for Southampton later a little today