The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was given a very British welcome when she sailed serenely into Portsmouth this morning.
The arrival of the largest warship ever built for the Royal Navy saw thousands of people awake well before sunrise to ensure they secured good vantage points along the route into Portsmouth Harbour.
Union Jacks could be seen fluttering from the windows of buildings overlooking the harbour entrance and as the 65,000 tonne ship floated towards her new berth in the Royal Navy dockyard, the band of the Royal Marines played her in.
And as she passed a packed jetty of spectators in the dockyard, one Royal Navy rating shouted: ‘Three cheers for HMS Queen Elizabeth.’
To add to the spectacle there was a flypast of helicopters and jets as if to accentuate the new military power this aircraft carrier, which rivals the size of the huge American carriers, will bring Britain.
She was quite a sight too and one people who had started lining Southsea seafront and Old Portsmouth from 3am this morning were glad they had made the effort to get up early to see.
As the biggest warship the Royal Navy has ever had, HMS Queen Elizabeth had to be carefully manoeuvred into the harbour but she made her entrance almost spot on the stated arrival time of 0710 hours.
What struck many of the watching crowds was how quickly she made her entrance – she had glided past vantage points almost as quickly as she had come into view.
The crowds watching on from the Royal Navy dockyard included many of the Senior Service’s top brass, and there was plenty of smiles and pride on display when the moment came to welcome the new flagship of the Navy fleet.