HMS Queen Elizabeth comes home to Portsmouth

  • Meridian

Tens of thousands of people have lined the walls of Portsmouth Harbour to welcome the UK's £3 billion aircraft carrier which has berthed at its home port for the first time.

The HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived alongside Portsmouth Naval base where the Royal Navy's newest and biggest ship will be based for its estimated 50-year lifespan.

Those on board and watching from the shore were treated to two separate flypasts of Royal Navy helicopters, the first featuring a Sea King, two MK2Merlins and two MK3 Merlins, which were then joined by two Hawk jets for the second.

An 820ft (250m) exclusion zone, enforced by armed police in small boats, meant the port was effectively closed to the flotilla of boats which had turned out to greet the Queen Elizabeth.

A Champagne breakfast was held on board the Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond for "VIPs and "VVIPs" from the Ministry of Defence.
Navy officers and family members also lined the jetty in the Navy base to welcome the ship, while the band of the Royal Marines played to entertain the crowds.