A tourist on a Caribbean cruise has been murdered on the luxury ship christened by the Duchess of Cambridge.
The woman was choked and thrown to her death from the top deck after a row in the opulent on-board casino.
Her partner was hauled off the Royal Princess by police on the tiny Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba.
Shocked passengers yesterday reported seeing spattered blood and broken glass all over the lifeboat on which the 52-year-old woman landed. Such was the force of her fall that one of her legs was reportedly severed.
The couple, both thought to be American, were seen arguing in the ship’s casino, on the lido deck on the 16th floor, at around 10.30pm on Thursday. At 4 am the woman was reportedly throttled and shoved over the side. She plunged nine decks, landing on a lifeboat on deck seven.
One passenger said: ‘We can literally see the lifeboat from our room. Blood and broken glass all over it.’
When the ship docked at Aruba, a ‘muscular’ man was led away by police. A spokesman for Aruban prosecutors said he was the woman’s partner and that her death was being treated as ‘unnatural’.
The Royal Princess was launched in Southampton in 2013 by the Duchess of Cambridge, who christened it and became its ‘godmother’.
The liner carries 3,600 passengers and is the flagship of Princess Cruises, formerly a subsidiary of P&O. It boasts a three-storey atrium, an outdoor cinema and the ‘SeaWalk’ – a spectacular viewing platform which stretches 28ft beyond the ship’s edge.
Yesterday guests were awoken to news of the murder by an announcement at 4.30am. One passenger said: ‘Ten police officers came aboard. The announcement was a criminal investigation was to be conducted.’
The Royal Princess left on an eight-day cruise around the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale on November 9, and was due to return to Florida today.
A spokesman for Princess Cruises said the cause of death was not yet known. They added: ‘We are deeply saddened by this incident and offer our sincere condolences to the family and those affected.’