HMS Prince of Wales returns back to Portsmouth just days after leaving the city
THE Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is due back home tomorrow – after spending just four days at sea.
Portsmouth’s Queen’s Harbour has warned mariners to expect the 65,000-tonne vessel to begin to enter the city’s harbour shortly after 3.30pm.
Prince of Wales departed Portsmouth on Sunday afternoon where she was expected to continue with her training at sea.
The Ministry of Defence has insisted the carrier had always been set to return tomorrow.
A spokesman added: ‘Following a successful period at sea, it was always planned that HMS Prince of Wales would return to Portsmouth of August 26, in order to re-store ready for the next period at sea.
‘It also allows the crew time with families over the bank holiday, ahead of a busy operational autumn period.’
The ship is the newest of Britain’s two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
Her older sister, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is currently on deployment in the Far East.
As previously reported, HMS Prince of Wales completed a two-month stint at sea earlier this year, making her maiden trip to Gibraltar.
The mighty warship’s deployment came after a lengthy period of maintenance and repairs, following a leak which cost millions of pound to fix.
The News has approached the Ministry of Defence for comment about HMS Prince of Wales’s return.